The NFL Is Lying to You about the Whistle in Bengals-Raiders
Dustin Baker
|
Second-year phenom quarterback Joe Burrow was rolling toward the sideline in Saturday’s AFC wildcard playoff game, delivering a strike in the endzone to Tyler Boyd for a touchdown. It was a marvelous, seismic play.
There was one problem, though. While the ball was in the air, a referee blew the whistle, causing Las Vegas Raiders players to stop — as they’re trained to do.
The whistle was perceptibly blown during the play, meaning it was justified for players to pause out of instinct. Referees convened and decided the whistle basically didn’t happen, leaving the touchdown ruling on the field as a valid transaction.
Touchdown Bengals.
To be sure, Cincinnati played wonderfully on Saturday, deserving their first playoff win since the original Gulf War. But it was the postgame clarification that puzzled fans.
After the game, NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson offered clarity on the situation:
“We confirmed with the referee and the crew that on that play — they got together and talked — they determined that they had a whistle, but that the whistle for them on the field was blown after the receiver caught the ball.”
And this is a lie.
Very easily, the NFL could’ve opted for some accountability, admitting the gaffe. The process is easy, “We got it wrong.” However, in a mind-numbing twist, NFL’s brass doubled down, defending the referees when most of the world — even Bengals loyalists — know the call was bungled.
Two problems arise from this matter. Foremost, nobody on the field could do anything within the existing rules to fix the situation. Fake whistles can’t be reviewed (although the topic might be visited during the offseason by Raiders executives). The play-review system is regimented, and only a shortlist of infractions can be reexamined.
Second, WhistleGate is yet another circumstance of the NFL having billions of dollars to use on modern technology for enhancements. Men in striped shirts on the field should be able to use technology from 2022 to detect a bad whistle. Folks on their couches heard the whistle — why can’t the men who matter most hear it? Bizarre. The same frustration is palpable when first-down calls are adjudicated by dudes with moving chains — and not bonafide laser technology (or something of the like). The ATP Tour could lend a helping hand.
Thankfully, the sequence wasn’t quite as deadly as the blown pass-interference ordeal with the New Orleans Saints in the 2018 playoffs. That blunder point-blank caused the Saints to lose, thus ending Super Bowl aspirations.
The NFL had the opportunity to fix this one instantly with a quick apology — or at least tell the truth in a damage-control vein. Now, though, they’ll have to renege on the lie and admit fault or carry on with the nonsense.
The Bengals travel to Tennessee next weekend for a date with the top-seeded Titans in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
You must be logged in to post a comment.