Bengals legend T.J. Houshmandzadeh was furious with the referees for missing multiple calls on Joe Burrow as Cincinnati lost 35-34 to the Ravens. It was a chastening loss as head coach Zac Taylor made the bold decision to go for a two-point conversion that would have earned them an outright win but failed.
However, the play should have been called back and the Bengals given another chance. First, tight end Mike Gesicki was clearly held on the play before the referees missed a blatant hit to the quarterback with his facemask targeted. Earlier in the drive, the officials had missed a similar call but Joe Burrow had overcome that with a pinpoint pass on a fourth down to continue the possession. This time there was no respite because there are no downs on a conversion attempt.
That meant that Cincinnati lost despite their quarterback recording 428 passing yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. T.J. Houshmandzadeh was having none of it and he took to X/Twitter to air his disgust, writing,
"Players & Coaches are held accountable for bad plays & play calls. When will these B*M A*S OFFICIALS be held accountable for constantly missing calls? Burrow had 2 personal fouls missed on final drive. Damn shame"
T.J. Houshmandzadeh feels Joe Burrow and Bengals unfairly denied by referees in 2024 season
This was not the first time T.J. Houshmandzadeh weighed in on a controversial refereeing call. Earlier this season, the Bengals lost to the Chiefs on the back of a controversial call where a defensive pass interference was called against the Cincinnati defense but an offensive holding by Kansas City was missed. At that time, the retired NFL player had said,
"Give every game to the Chiefs rest of season. Refs in their favor every game. Why play the game if we know results beforehand?"
As it stands, we are in Week 10 now and the Bengals have again been on the wrong end of a couple of refereeing decisions. Also, the Chiefs have not lost and have been the beneficiaries of some dodgy calls by the officials.
Cincinnati, though, is now 4-6 for the season and three games behind Baltimore. A win here would have put them a game behind the Steelers and the Ravens in the AFC North. Instead, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are now three games ahead of Joe Burrow and company with a 7-3 record and the Bengals' chances of making the playoffs are receding into the distance.
Ravens Nation! Check out the latest Baltimore Ravens Schedule and dive into the latest Ravens Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.