Coming off Monday night’s (somewhat) controversial ending of the Seahawks-Packers game and with the thought that the NFL won’t continue to want to be embarrassed with the quality of the officiating, here’s a list of the 10 biggest replacement screw-ups through the first three weeks of the season.
Can you guess which flub is No. 1?
10. From Week 2, the offensive pass interference penalty called against Ravens receiver Jacoby Jones. It was a horrendously-bad call, and it cost Baltimore four points. Oh, by the way, the Ravens lost by a point to the Eagles in that one.
9. In Week 1, the officials gave the Seahawks an extra timeout in the second half. Hey, at least the replacements admitted they screwed up after the game. Luckily for the NFL, the Cardinals still won.
8. While you might remember a certain coach accosting an official after the game, you might have forgotten that Ravens coach John Harbaugh was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. For trying, um, to call a timeout. That could be one reason Harbaugh looks mad enough to punch somebody (below, the official looks like he’s trying to get out of danger). UPDATE: As fellow CBSSports.com scribe Clark Judge points out, Harbaugh later admitted he made contact with the official. Which will get him penalized and fined.
7. To kick the eventual game-winning field goal vs. Detroit, the Titans got the benefit of a 27-yard penalty that should have been a 15-yard mark-off. Must have been some kind of problem with the metric system or something.
6. Falcons defensive Ray Edwards put his boxing training to good use in Week 2 when he threw punches at two Broncos offensive linemen during a scrum. No ejection, no penalty, not even a stern talking-to by the replacements.
5. The star of the Monday night show also makes an appearance from this crack-back block on Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee. Maybe the replacements forgot this kind of blind-side block thrown by Golden Tate is now illegal, because there was no flag.
4. This Ryan Mundy hit of Darrius Heyward-Bey, of course, is wildly illegal, and it sent the Raiders receiver to an overnight stay in the hospital. No flag on the Steelers safety, though it’s almost certain a fine from the league office is coming.
3. From Week 2, Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor didn’t touch Jets receiver Santonio Holmes. But in the replacement’s eyes, that constituted pass interference. Seriously, you might not see a worst pass interference call than this one.
2. That’s OK, Mr. Replacement Official. That thrown hat has to go somewhere. Just toss it wherever and pretend Kevin Ogletree is Joe Pesci from Home Alone.
1. Of course, it’s this one -- the inspiration for this list.
Here’s the beginning of the play.
And the beautifully disastrous end.
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