Tag: Gene Steratore

Even Gene Steratore was confused after the officials confirmed Saquon Barkley’s fumble

This should not have been a fumble on Saquon Barkley.

It’s never a good sign for NFL officials if Gene Steratore is disagreeing with your call.

The former referee turned CBS analyst was quite befuddled by a call during Sunday’s Philadelphia Eagles versus Jacksonville Jaguars game. The Eagles were handling the Jaguars well until Jacksonville returned a Saquon Barkley fumble in the third quarter for a touchdown to make it a 22-16 game.

However, Steratore — and the rest of the internet — argued that Barkley should have been ruled down by contact before the fumble, as a Jaguars’ defender clipped the running back’s legs, with the ball only popping out as he hit the ground.

Even after it was reviewed, the officials confirmed the play was a fumble, confusing everyone and mystifying Steratore on CBS’s broadcast. And the evidence is pretty clear, as Barkley’s ankle got touched, causing him to fall before losing the ball after hitting the ground.

Not a great look for the stripes here.

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NFL rules expert questions flag thrown against Bills vs. Cardinals

NFL rules expert questions flag thrown against #Bills vs. #Cardinals:

A former longtime NFL referee turned football analyst questioned a flag thrown against the Buffalo Bills in their season-opening win against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Bills eventually won the contest, 34-28, but in the moment it was looking grim early.

The Cardinals held at 17-3 lead at one point and on their first drive eventually scored. On one play in particular, Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray rushed the ball and slid. He was hit by Bills cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram who appeared to be slowing so he would not draw a penalty.

Ingram was flagged anyway and with that improved field position, the Cards turned it into a touchdown.

It was not just fans in Buffalo that thought the call was poor.

NFL rules expert Gene Steratore from CBS Sports did as well. The former longtime NFL referee gave his opinion on the call and he did not agree, either.

His reaction and a replay of the questionable sequence can be found below:

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NFL rules analyst Gene Steratore breaks down Bills-Chiefs Kadarius Toney penalty

He called the penalty “obvious…”

Everyone has been having their say relating to the way the end of the Bills-Chiefs’ Week 14 clash went.

Gene Steratore included and he says the referees got it right.

Steratore, a former NFL referee himself, now works on CBS Sports as a rules analyst.

Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid… and Kadarius Toney… were upset with the way the Chiefs were defeated.

The Chiefs (8-5) lost 20-17 to the Bills (7-6). In the fourth quarter, a penalty did not go the Chiefs’ way and it took a late touchdown off the board as Toney was offside.

The play was wild as Toney was the one who scored after  Travis Kelce lateraled the ball across the field to him.

Steratore’s breakdown said a “flag had to be thrown” because of how “obvious” the penalty was.

His full analysis can be found in the slideshow below:

https://www.instagram.com/nfloncbs/p/C0spyhgtVh0/?img_index=1

 

The CBS Sports broadcast booth blasted Iron Bowl referees for missing a blatant Alabama facemask grab

How did the referees miss this facemask grab?

Alabama football got away with the most blatant facemask pull on Auburn in Saturday’s annual Iron Bowl, the CBS Sports broadcast team let the officiating have it all the way from the booth.

Broadcasters Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Gene Steratore tore into the horrific missed call, which saw Auburn running back Brian Battie’s facemask swung around by Alabama wide receiver Kendrick Law on a special teams return play.

Nessler went so far as to say it’s the worst no-call he’s seen in college football this year, and Danielson said you would have to not understand the sport of football itself to not see that this was a facemask penalty. Ouch.

The Crimson Tide clearly got away with a huge, huge penalty on this play, and it’s not often you’ll see a broadcast crew like the one at CBS Sports just go off on how bad a call went for any respective team.

However, on Saturday, Nessler, Danielson and Steratore did just that.

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Gene Steratore admits mistake interpreting Romeo Doubs TD catch vs. Broncos

The CBS Sports rule analyst admitted getting his interpretation wrong of Romeo Doubs’ touchdown catch against the Broncos.

Former NFL referee and current CBS Sports rule analyst Gene Steratore admitted making a mistake in his interpretation of a crucial play during Sunday’s broadcast of the Green Bay Packers’ 19-17 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The play — a touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs in the second half — was called correctly on the field and upheld on review, but Steratore admitted to getting it wrong while breaking down the play for the CBS broadcast.

Steratore, who was an NFL official from 2003 to 2018, said he believed the play should have been ruled an interception for Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II because he thought Surtain fulfilled the process of making the catch before Doubs. But he got it wrong: simultaneous possession of the ball is awarded to the offensive team, so officials got the call correct on the field.

Vice president of officiating Walt Anderson confirmed the call on the field was right.

Here’s Steratore’s tweet admitting his error:

Here’s the play in question from Sunday:

Referees are human beings and make mistakes. The same goes for former referees who analyze the game for networks. Fortunately, the play was called correctly on the field and no controversy ensued. The touchdown pass from Love to Doubs cut the Broncos’ lead to 16-10, but Denver eventually held on for a 19-17 win.

After review, Gene Steratore changes his stance on Pat Surtain-Romeo Doubs play

After review, Gene Steratore now says he was wrong to say Pat Surtain should have been awarded an interception against the Packers.

Officials ruled that Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs caught a touchdown pass against Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain on Sunday.

Some fans and pundits — including ex-referee and current CBS rules expert Gene Steratore — thought that Surtain actually should have been awarded an interception on the play.

The game’s ref, Alex Kemp, disagreed with Steratore’s interpretation of the play, and after two days of review, Steratore himself has now changed his tune.

“No matter what you do, owning up and taking accountability is how you get better,” Steratore wrote on his Twitter/X page on Tuesday. “My interpretation of the play in #GBvsDEN was incorrect. I overthought it and just missed it. As a ref (whether grade school or pro), you learn the most from the <5% of calls that you miss.”

The play was still controversial, but thankfully, Doubs scoring did not decide the game. Denver held on to beat Green Bay 19-17.

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Referee Alex Kemp disagrees with Gene Steratore’s take on Pat Surtain’s non-INT

NFL ref Alex Kemp said Pat Surtain getting his feet down first had no impact on his ruling. He also said it wasn’t simultaneous possession.

Story update: Gene Steratore later backtracked and said he was wrong about the play. See our original post below. 

The Green Bay Packers scored in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos when quarterback Jordan Love threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Romeo Doubs.

The play was ruled a touchdown, but ex-NFL referee and current CBS rules expert Gene Steratore said cornerback Pat Surtain should have been awarded an interception instead.

The game’s referee, Alex Kemp, explained his crew’s decision in an interview with PFWA pool reporter Jeff Legwold after the game.

“We ruled on the field that the Green Bay receiver controlled the ball while airborne and came to the ground and never lost control of the ball and therefore, by rule, it is a touchdown,” Kemp said.

Kemp went on to say that Surtain’s feet hitting the ground first has no impact on the play’s ruling. NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson also told Legwold that the scoring play was reviewed in New York and they agreed with Kemp’s decision.

Kemp also said that “simultaneous possession” did not come into play.

“That’s not what we ruled on the field,” Kemp said. “But had we ruled that on the field, it would still be a touchdown. By rule, simultaneous possession is a touchdown, or is a catch by the receiver.”

Touchdown or interception? You decide:

Kemp and Steratore clearly aren’t on the same page. Fortunately, the play did not end up deciding the game as the Broncos held on to win 19-17.

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Ex-NFL ref Gene Steratore would have awarded Pat Surtain an INT vs. Packers

Former NFL referee Gene Steratore says Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain should have been awarded an interception against the Packers.

Story update: Gene Steratore later backtracked and said he was wrong about the play. See our original post below. 

The Denver Broncos’ 19-17 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday featured some controversy in the third quarter.

After Packers quarterback Jordan Love tossed a 16-yard pass into the end zone, Denver cornerback Pat Surtain and Green Bay wide receiver Romeo Doubs ended up on the ground with both their arms wrapped around the ball.

Officials ruled the play a touchdown, stating that Doubs maintained control of the ball and secured a catch for a score.

Former NFL referee Gene Steratore, who now works as a rules analyst for CBS Sports, disagreed with the ruling.

“[T]he DB fulfilled the process of the catch before the WR did,” Steratore wrote on his Twitter/X page. “After the defender possessed the ball, both of his feet and then his knee were down in-bounds prior to the WR’s. This would make this play an interception.”

This is not the first time this season that Steratore has sided with the Broncos on a questionable call. In Week 2, Steratore said Washington Commanders defensive back Benjamin St-Juste got away with pass interference against Denver wide receiver Courtland Sutton on the game’s final play.

Steratore served as a referee in the NFL from 2003-2018.

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Gene Steratore was convinced that the refs mistakenly gifted the Packers’ Romeo Doubs with a TD

The Packers’ “Fail Mary curse” is OVER!!!

After a clunker of a Monday night game and a needed bye week, the Green Bay Packers were in desperate need of a rebound. Jordan Love, in particular, had to bounce back after throwing three interceptions in one of the worst efforts of his career. Little did he know that officials in Denver would be very kind to help him try and ignite the Packers’ offense.

As Green Bay tried to capitalize on a late third-quarter red zone trip against the Denver Broncos, Love inexplicably lobbed up a weak ball to receiver Romeo Doubs at the near corner of the end zone.

When Doubs went up for the pass, Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain simultaneously had the ball in his grasp mid-air. The play was ruled a Packers touchdown, but former NFL referee and now CBS officiating analyst Gene Steratore was in disbelief Green Bay got the conclusive touchdown.

Frankly, he probably has a point:

While, yes, Doubs more or less beat Surtain to the ball, he did not establish clear possession with both feet down, according to Steratore’s interpretation of the rule book. But that’s not how the referees at Mile High viewed it. On this occasion, they wanted to give the Packers a fateful “Prevail Mary.”

That curse, first borne in an infamous game with the Seattle Seahawks, is over.

NFL rules expert Gene Steratore reacts to PI no-call on Broncos’ 2-point attempt

“The contact by the defender significantly impacted the receiver’s ability to make a play on the ball,” Gene Steratore said of the no-call.

Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste seemingly got away with pass interference in a game-deciding play against the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon.

After pulling off an incredible 50-yard Hail Mary pass, the Broncos trailed the Commanders 35-33 with no time left on the clock. After the touchdown, Denver was given an untimed two-point attempt that could have sent the game into overtime.

On the two-point try, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson threw to wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the end zone but the pass was broken up by St-Juste, who appeared to make contact before the ball arrived.

After the game, former NFL referee and current CBS Sports rules analyst Gene Steratore tweeted that “the contact by the defender significantly impacted the receiver’s ability to make a play on the ball.”

Steratore served as a referee in the NFL from 2003-2018. St-Juste entered the league as a third-round pick out of Minnesota in 2021. The 26-year-old defensive back totaled three tackles and the game-deciding breakup on Sunday.

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