3 times Jerome Boger gave NFL conspiracy theorists mad fuel with controversial calls

Jerome Boger has been a part of the NFL officiating crew since the 2004 season. He took over as a head referee of his own crew in 2006 and has remained in that position for 17 of his 19 seasons in the league. He has been a referee for many important games in numerous years of the NFL Playoffs, including Super Bowl XLVII.

His run of nearly two decades as a referee ended after he announced his retirement during the 2023 NFL offseason. Like everyone else in his position, he's had his fair share of highs and lows throughout his career. Some questionable calls during NFL games make up most of the low points, leading to controversial debates about the games themselves.

Some of Jerome Boger's worst calls have been labeled as a conspiracy by some NFL fans

Being a referee is a thankless job that comes with much public criticism. When a game is called perfectly, they rarely get any credit for it, but any mistake is almost always turned into headline news and public outrage.

Jerome Boger is no stranger to this concept, as the following three games have made some NFL fans question his integrity.

Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs for the 2021 season

At the end of the first half, the Cincinnati Bengals had the ball in Las Vegas Raiders territory. Quarterback Joe Burrow rolled out to the right sideline and fired a pass just before stepping out of bounds, which ended in a Tyler Boyd touchdown. The play was clean, but one of the refs made a significant error by blowing the whistle during the action, thinking Burrow was out of bounds.

The play should have been ruled dead, but instead, the officiating crew ruled that the whistle wasn't blown until after the touchdown. This was incorrect, and the touchdown shouldn't have counted. Replays demonstrated a whistle during the play, which should have ended there. Jerome Boger instead incorrectly decided to let the touchdown stand.

Week 14 of the 2019 NFL season

In a game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, Jerome Boger and his crew blatantly made an incorrect call of a player being out of bounds when he wasn't. Even worse, the botched call negated a Patriots touchdown that could have been the difference in the game.

N'Keal Harry made an acrobatic play to tip-toe his way into the endzone to score a crucial touchdown against the Chiefs. The only issue is that he was ruled to have stepped out of bounds before reaching the endzone. Replays showed this was the wrong call, and the Patriots had no remaining challenges. The auto-review didn't kick in because the play wasn't ruled a touchdown on the field.

Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season

When the Buffalo Bills faced off against the Baltimore Ravens, the game was tied 20-20 late in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Josh Allen was attempting to lead the Bills on a game-winning drive to avoid going to overtime. The Ravens recorded a crucial sack that could have ended the Bills' chances of winning in regulation.

A late penalty flag changed everything. Jerome Boger ruled the sack to be a roughing the passer call, giving the Bills new life. Replays clearly showed that the hit appeared perfectly legal, but the call for a foul allowed the Bills to kick a game-winning field goal in regulation.

Jerome Boger NFL refereeing career: Other notable bad calls from retired ref

NFL referee Jerome Boger

Jerome Boger has built an unfortunate reputation for blowing massive calls in big games. The above examples are some of the biggest highlights, but the list of errors continues.

Like the roughing the passer call against Josh Allen, he had another one for Tom Brady. Grady Jarrett appeared to cleanly sack Brady when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off against the Atlanta Falcons, but he was flagged. The botched call likely cost the Falcons the game as it allowed Brady to continue a game-winning drive.

Jerome Boger also missed many more calls during the previously mentioned Patriots-Chiefs game. A Travis Kelce fumble was incorrectly whistled dead, negating a touchdown return for Stephon Gilmore. He also awarded a five-yard penalty for an illegal hands-to-the-face call instead of the proper ten yards per the NFL's official rules.

Another example was during a game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in the 2015 NFL season. Jerome Boger struggled to adequately explain offsetting penalties, stumbling through his official call and presenting incorrect details. Many other events exist in the controversial category of his missed calls. It comes with the territory of being a referee, but his missteps, unfortunately, stand out more than most others.