KC Wolf
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,246
- 0
Getty Images
Patriots fans were upset with multiple missed calls in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs, but the most egregious officiating error of all may have been on a penalty that was correctly called but then wrongly enforced.
Midway through the third quarter, Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was correctly flagged for illegal hands to the face. But referee Jerome Boger announced it as a five-yard penalty, when hands to the face is actually a 10-yard penalty. The Chiefs were moved back five yards, from their own 44-yard line to the 39, but they should have been moved back to the 34.
As noted by FootballZebras.com, not only did Boger make the mistake, but every member of the officiating crew failed to correct it. Something as fundamental as knowing how many yards to assess on a penalty shouldn’t be missed by any official. This time, it was missed by every official.
The mistake didn’t really hurt the Patriots: The Chiefs had to punt on the drive, and the Patriots blocked that punt. But this mistake was particularly noteworthy because it wasn’t about failing to see something, which could happen to anyone. It was about failing to know the rules. That’s inexcusable.