A controversial penalty was one of the final nails in the Steelers' coffin during Thursday night's 21-18 loss to the Patriots.
The penalty occurred with Pittsburgh trailing by three points and facing a fourth-and-3 at their own 38-yard-line with just over five minutes left. It looked like the Steelers would be awarded a first down after Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai appeared to jump offsides before the snap. But the officials instead penalized Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz for a false start. Pittsburgh was forced to punt instead of getting a fresh set of downs.
Kuntz's body didn't move, but the officials apparently penalized him for raising his head.
false start? 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/KpJ4Ja2aFi
— Benstonium (@Benstonium) December 8, 2023
The penalty was immediately a hot-button topic on social media, with future Hall of Famer and current CBS Sports NFL analyst JJ Watt chiming in. Watt was clearly not a fan of the call.
That is how every single long snapper in the NFL moves their head…
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) December 8, 2023
It should be noted that the Steelers did get the ball back, but came up short after Mitch Trubisky was unable to connect on his deep pass for Diontae Johnson on a fourth-down play. The loss was Pittsburgh's second to a two-win team over a five-day span. Mike Tomlin's team is now 7-6 after a 6-3 start to the season.
While Pittsburgh fans are in mourning, New England fans hoping for a high draft pick next spring might not be too happy, either. One person who is surely happy with tonight's outcome is Bill Belichick, who is now 15 wins away from matching Don Shula's NFL record of 347 career wins.
