PO’ed: Poorly Officiated

January 9, 2016, is a date that I and many other fans of the Cincinnati Bengals would like to forget. After trailing the entire game, my beloved Bengals fought and clawed their way back into the game and took a 16-15 lead over their biggest rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, with a little under two minutes left in the game. It looked like the Bengals would finally win in the playoffs and end a 25 year postseason victory draught that dates all the way back to the 1990 NFL season. Unfortunately, the Steelers escaped with an 18-15 win over the Bengals after two stupid penalties cost the Bengals 30 yards. While the Bengals ultimately cost themselves the game, the officiating definitely played a role. Now I am not saying that the officials are the reason why the Bengals lost the game. I am saying that the officiating was so bad that the game essentially turned into a fight, and the lack of control by the referees played a key role into how violent the game became.

The head referee for this game was the same referee who officiated the second Steelers versus Bengals game. In that contest, the two teams got in a fight before the game even started. During the game, Steelers player Mike Mitchell laid a hard shot into Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert that resulted in Eifert leaving the game with a concussion. The tension only escalated from there and the officiating crew was heavily criticized for how they handled the game.

Fast forward to the playoff game for Steelers versus Bengals part three. For some stupid reason, the NFL has the same head official from the previous Steelers versus Bengals game referee the playoff game. Apparently the NFL told both teams before the game that they would not tolerate the same kind of violent play that characterized their previous meeting and at first, it looked like the officials had control of the game. Both teams were playing hard and other than an incident involving one of the Steelers coaches and Bengals safety Reggie Nelson, the game was going on without a hitch although it was a hard-hitting matchup. The officiating took a nosedive after an incident involving Ryan Shazier of the Steelers and Giovani Bernard of the Bengals.

Bernard caught a pass and took two steps before being knocked out by Ryan Shazier’s helmet-to-helmet shot that was horrific to watch. Bernard was motionless on the ground for a few minutes. Apparently the play was legal, but it was no doubt a dirty and vicious hit that could have seriously injured both players. To make matters worse, Shazier, in a display of the poorest of sportsmanship, celebrated the hit on the sideline. Things escalated quickly.

Both teams appeared to be hitting each other harder and the fans even started throwing trash onto the field. Toward the end of the game, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict laid out Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown with a shot to the head from his shoulder that floored Brown. It was reminiscent of the hit Shazier placed on Bernard. That was called a penalty. However, the play also led to another scrummage between the two teams. This time though, Steelers coach Joey Porter was on the field and jawing with Bengals cornerback Adam Jones. There was absolutely no reason for Porter to be on the field. He is a coach and should have stayed on the sideline. Had that play in which Shazier knocked out Bernard been handled better, then perhaps Brown would not have suffered that hit and the game would have not turned into a fight with fans throwing debris onto the field. The game was poorly officiated as the referees lost control. In my opinion, the NFL has a lot of explaining to do. 

I could go on and on about how bad the officiating was, but I am still disgusted with how the game ended. It was a poor display of sportsmanship from a few coaches and players on the field and an embarrassment for the NFL.