Tag: officials

Ron Torbert to head Super Bowl LIX officiating crew

Who is officiating Super Bowl LIX?

The teams remain to be determined. However, the NFL has already decided  what officials will work Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans next month.

The referee will be Ron Torbert.

The rest of the Super Bowl LIX officiating crew:

Footage proves officials cost Steelers critical on 4th down vs Ravens

Officiating blunders on a critical 4th down cost the Steelers a chance at a comeback against the Ravens in the Wild-Card game.

Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and officials screwing over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

No one would argue that the Mike Tomlin-led Steelers looked terrible against the Ravens on Wild-Card Saturday. However, the referees made Baltimore’s victory an even harder pill to swallow.

The terrible officiating was most evident on a critical 4th down attempt by Baltimore, as the Steelers were trying to mount a seemingly impossible 21-point comeback.

Footage from the play in question has been circulating on social media, highlighting how officials failed to allow the Pittsburgh Steelers to make a legal substitution after the Ravens swapped into a heavier offensive package.

While the Steelers ultimately fell victim to their own shortcomings, the missed opportunity to stage a second-half comeback—thanks to officiating blunders—will leave a bad taste in fans’ mouths for a long time.

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Steelers face bad officiating news for Wild-Card game vs Ravens

The head official for the Steelers-Ravens Wild-Card matchup has been set, and it could spell disaster for the Black and Gold.

As if the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Wild-Card playoff matchup against the Baltimore Ravens couldn’t get any more difficult, the Black and Gold have received dreaded officiating news ahead of Saturday’s game.

Alex Kemp has been selected as the head official for Saturday’s Wild-Card matchup, and during the 2024 regular season, over 80% of home teams in games he officiated walked away victorious. This could spell disaster for the Steelers, who are heading into a fiery Ravens environment in Baltimore.

There is a clear discrepancy when comparing the league-average home team win percentage of 53% to the games Kemp has officiated. The situation becomes even more complicated when factoring in the Ravens’ struggles with penalties in 2024.

Baltimore is currently the second-most penalized team in terms of yardage and is tied for second in the league for most penalties committed, with 132. However, this may not matter when it comes to Kemp’s officiating.

Tune in to watch the action and drama unfold on Saturday, January 11, at 8:00 PM EST, when the Baltimore Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers in an intense Wild-Card playoff matchup.

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‘Hard Knocks’ shows what officials said to anger Mike Tomlin vs Eagles

Officials’ unseen exchange with Mike Tomlin highlights one of the worst excuses after a controversial Week 15 Steelers penalty.

Viewers of this week’s new episode of Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North, were treated to what led to Steelers HC Mike Tomlin profanely telling officials to get away from him.

Before Tomlin’s choice words to the officials, he questioned why they decided to call such a heinous penalty on both Steelers players: “Y’all didn’t see that guy throwing punches for Philadelphia?”

The official speaking to Tomlin then provided the most embarrassing excuse one could imagine, claiming the Eagles player was “knocking his hands off him.”

Fans who saw up-close footage of the altercation could clearly see that while Steelers TE Darnell Washington blocked CB Darius Slay Jr. for an extended period, the Eagles cornerback was the first to throw punches.

No wonder Tomlin was so bewildered with the officiating crew during Week 16’s contest between the Steelers and Eagles. Not only was Pittsburgh wrongly penalized for the skirmish, but he was also given one of the worst officiating excuses imaginable.

As the Steelers prepare for the Ravens in Week 16, hopefully the team can put these wrongful penalties behind them, with the stakes higher than ever in the upcoming AFC North showdown—a chance at the divisional title.

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Mike Tomlin offers some choice words to officials in Week 15

Following a personal foul penalty, Mike Tomlin’s choice words for officials highlighted his frustration during the Steelers-Eagles matchup.

In what can only be described as a chaotic start to Week 15’s contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, head coach Mike Tomlin was clearly heated after watching his team surrender 10 points in the first quarter.

Following a physical altercation between the Steelers and Eagles, Tomlin was visibly frustrated that the officials only penalized Pittsburgh for the fight. Fans could clearly see Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell land a strike on Calvin Austin III, but the officiating crew appeared to miss it.

The personal foul penalty cost the Pittsburgh Steelers 15 yards, and Tomlin made his displeasure known to the officials in no uncertain terms.

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Yikes! Players and coaches have been fined for less when it comes to their interactions with officials, and it remains to be seen if the NFL will involve themselves due to Tomlin’s profanity-filled statement directed at the officiating crew.

One thing remains certain, however—it is probably best to leave Tomlin alone when you’re calling a penalty against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Steelers fans react to penalty-filled Week 13 Steelers’ victory

Fans react to the penalty-filled Week 13 game, where the Steelers overcame miscues and missed calls to secure a win over the Bengals.

While the Pittsburgh Steelers dominated on offense in their Week 13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, one negative aspect could not be ignored: penalties. A total of 29 penalties were committed by both teams, with 20 being accepted.

The Pittsburgh Steelers players most responsible for their team’s penalty woes were found on both sides of the football, as none other than WR George Pickens and CB Joey Porter Jr. stood out.

Pickens was responsible for 30 penalty yards, while Porter gave the Bengals 57 yards on significant pass interference and defensive holding penalties.

The officiating, however, was not without controversy. The Cincinnati Bengals were essentially gifted a pick-six on a missed call, where CB Cam Taylor-Britt swung Pickens by the helmet to the ground, positioning himself perfectly with no penalty called.

With this in mind, fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers, while satisfied with their team’s victory in Week 13, were understandably frustrated by the penalties. Whether minor, flagrant, or a no-call, here are some of the best fan reactions to the penalty-filled game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.

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5 takeaways from the Broncos’ 16-14 loss to Chiefs in Week 10

The sky is not falling. Here are five quick takeaways from the Broncos’ loss to the Chiefs on Sunday.

The Denver Broncos fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 16-14 on Sunday after their last-second field goal attempt was blocked. Here are five quick takeaways from the loss.

1. Audric Estime in, Javonte Williams out: Hopefully fantasy football managers listened when coach Sean Payton hinted last week that Estime would be more involved in the second half of the season. Estime dominated the team’s backfield on Sunday with 14 carries for 53 yards. Jaleel McLaughlin mixed in with two carries for 12 yards and even wide receiver Marvin Mims got three carries for 17 yards. Williams only received one carry (for one yard) and just two targets as a receiver out of the backfield. Estime might be the new RB1 going forward.

2. Bad officiating did not cost Denver the game: Yes, there were some questionable calls on Sunday, but the Broncos can’t blame the officials for the loss (more on that in a moment). KC’s formation on the field goal block was legal, and Denver squandered opportunities to win the game in the second half. Blame for the loss falls on the Broncos, not the referee.

3. Denver’s offense disappeared in the second half: After taking a 14-10 lead into halftime, the Broncos’ offense proved to be mostly ineffective until the final drive of the game. Denver’s defense continued to hold up, allowing just two field goals, but the offense didn’t do its part.

4. Alex Forsyth cost the Broncos the game: Listen, this is not a green light to harass players on social media, which is never acceptable. But there’s accountability in professional sports, and players are spotlighted for mistakes (in a professional manner). The Chiefs identified Forsyth as a weak link on kicks earlier in the game, noting that he was too light on his toes and susceptible to a bull rush. KC exploited that on the final play of the game and drove Forsyth back to block the field goal attempt. Forsyth accepted blame after the game, and he’ll probably never make that mistake again.

5. Denver is oh-so-close: After the game, Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix said, “I feel like we’re right there, just have to get over that hump.” He’s right. The good news is that Denver just went toe-to-toe with the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team, the defending Super Bowl champions. The bad news is that the Broncos weren’t able to complete the game. “It really played out exactly how we wanted it to, like exactly with the ball, the clock, in complete control of everything,” Payton said. “We just couldn’t finish it.” If the Broncos get over the hump that Nix referenced, they will be a legitimate playoff contender this fall. And they’ll see KC again when the Chiefs visit Empower Field at Mile High in Week 18. Denver was knocked down on Sunday, but the Broncos weren’t knocked out. There’s a lot of football left to play.

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Referees are making their presence felt early in Week 4 game versus Colts

The officials of the Steelers versus Colts are making their presence felt early, throwing several Flags that impacted the game.

The officiating and their love of throwing flags has been a topic of conversation for Pittsburgh in the past few weeks.  There has been terrible calls that took major plays away from the Steelers, officials apologizing for flags, the benching of Broderick Jones over penalties, and now in Week 4, the refs are making their presence felt early.

After the Colts stormed down the field with an opening drive that resulted in a touchdown, the referees changed the course of Pittsburgh’s opening drive not once, but twice.

Justin Fields was driven to the ground on a Steelers third down play, which would have resulted in a sack and subsequent punt.

https://twitter.com/NFLscheme/status/1840440194949923250

The referees would then incorrectly credit Broderick Jones with a late-hit flag, with Spender Anderson being the true culprit of the 15-yard penalty.  Pittsburgh looks to get the ball rolling against the Colts after giving up 14 points to Indianpolis in the first quarter.

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Steelers are bringing in extra support for their recent penalty issues

Steelers are bringing in officials on extra days of practice to assist with penalty woes.

Aside from a subpar offense, one of the key differences between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the eight other undefeated teams is that the Steelers have the second-most penalties against them in the league.  This was on display in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos, as the Steelers had multiple flags called against them.  Several of these penalties, from both Week 1 and Week 2, wiped away key moments of success for the Steelers.

Mike Tomlin acknowledged this in Tuesday’s media availability and stated that the Steelers would be looking to change things up.

https://twitter.com/SteelersUpdate1/status/1836119894611628056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Hopefully, these two extra days with officials will make a key difference in dealing with the troubling penalty bug that has crept into the Pittsburgh locker room.

This week the Steelers have their home opener. They take on the Los Angeles Chargers who are among the nine undefeated teams left in the NFL along with the Steelers.

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Questionable calls that almost decided the game against Atlanta

The Steelers were on the wrong end of a couple of awful calls on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are no strangers to bad calls made by officials.  Some of these calls can decide a game if missed.  There were two calls this Sunday that would have shifted the game script if called correctly. 

George Pickens made a diving catch with 3 minutes 44 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter.  Viewers could see that A.J. Terrell tried to touch Pickens down and missed, in which George Pickens got up and ran for around 10 yards more.  The referees, however, missed the call and claimed that Pickens was marked down back at the Atlanta 28-yard line. 

The referees’ presence was also felt on the defensive side of the ball.  With 38 seconds remaining in the 1st half of the game, T.J. Watt spectacularly timed the Atlanta Falcons snap and strip-sacked Kirk Cousins, which should have resulted in a turnover for the Steelers.  The referees, however, labeled this impressive feat of timing and patience an offsides penalty.  The very next play, Kirk Cousins hit tight end Kyle Pitts for a touchdown. 

The Steelers should not put themselves in positions where non-reviewable calls like these can decide the game.  As close as the Steelers win their games, the officials are bound to make or break a contest, one way or another. 

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