Most observers would seem to agree the officiating during the Week 14 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns wasn’t the best.
During Cincinnati’s 29-17 loss, officials flagged a few phantom penalties and had a rather large precedent-breaking moment on reviewing, taking an interception away from the Bengals.
Replies from head coach Zac Taylor during the postgame presser say it all:
On whether coaches have been told that pass interference has changed since more calls are being overturned:
“You’re saying it’s unclear? You said it.”
On being animated on WR John Ross III’s hold on HB Joe Mixon’s run:
“Yes.”
The flag on John Ross that wiped out a big gain was clearly a bad call, to which Ross agreed.
“I had him in his chest. The reason why it maybe looked like I was holding was he tried to get away at the last second and (Bengals RB) Joe (Mixon) ran by him already,” Ross said. “No, I did not think it was a hold at all.”
Fellow wideout Tyler Boyd also noted things didn’t feel balanced, yet preached just controlling what they can.
“I felt today nothing was going our way,” Boyd said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “It’s the first time I felt all year the refs were on their side. But like Zac (Taylor) came in and said. You can’t worry about what you can’t control.”
Overall, it was an uncharacteristically bad day for the Bengals in the flags department. They lost 99 yards on eight flags, which paired with a three of 12 mark on third downs and six points in the second half was clearly a recipe for disaster. Which isn’t to say these flags were all on officials by any means, as a lapse in judgment from Joe Mixon resulted in a personal foul, for example.
But the Bengals were measured in their commentary here. Most would probably agree the officiating at key moments Sunday wasn’t in line with the usual quality. But the overall theme coming out of the loss is one of accepting discipline and execution woes and demanding better as the season winds down.
