The Cincinnati Bengals keep having interesting flags thrown, only for the NFL to seemingly later admit an error by its actions with fines a week later.
Ja’Marr Chase has just joined this suddenly common club. A week ago during a win over the Baltimore Ravens, officials hit the rookie with a controversial taunting penalty because he spun the ball on the ground after a catch.
A week later, no fine from the NFL. Taunting penalties have been pretty much automatic fines all season as the league cracks down, so it’s pretty telling Chase didn’t get an envelope on Saturday.
That went down in Week 16. And not too far back in Week 14 during a loss to San Francisco, safety Vonn Bell got flagged for taunting, only for the NFL to not fine him, either.
And the week after that, during the Week 15 win over Denver, there was one of the most blatant late-hits of all time against a Bengals player, only for officials to pick up the flag. Bradley Chubb was fined by the NFL a week later for the hit.
So in three consecutive weeks, officials have gotten it wrong on the field during Bengals games, only for the NFL to reinforce the idea later by its actions with fines.
The good news? The Bengals were 2-1 during that stretch of poor officiating, though the team would probably like to win its remaining games by blowouts so referees can’t influence the outcome late.
