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The New York Jets pulled off the upset of the week, beating the Bengals 34-31. The Jets entered the game with a 1-5 record and the Bengals were the top seed in the AFC with a 5-2 record.
What transpired next was the stuff of dreams for Jets fans. Mike White came into the game after backup quarterback Josh Johnson went off injured and threw for 405 yards and three touchdown passes.
But this dream evening did not come without its fair share of controversy, as Bengals fans claimed they were robbed by a horrendous refereeing call in the 4th quarter.
Jets defeat the Bengals with the aid of the referees
The New York Jets had the ball in their possession just before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. In a 2nd&11 situation, Mike White threw a pass to running back Ty Johnson and cornerback Mike Hilton of the Bengals tackled him well short of the first down.
However, the referees ruled it as unnecessary roughness due to helmet-to-helmet contact. But as can be seen, Hilton was going down low and never aimed for the head. It was Johnson who lowered his head to initiate the contact. The ruling on the field gave the Jets an automatic first down and they saw the game out from there.
Consider what would have happened if the call had been made, in our opinion, correctly and the Jets were in a fourth-and-short situation. They would have had to punt because they were not in field goal range. The Bengals would have had the ball back with all three of their timeouts remaining. Even if they had not scored a touchdown, it is not inconceivable to see them going into the field goal range to at least tie the scores and force the game into overtime.
Instead, what happened was that the Jets held on to the ball after that call and the Bengals had to use all their timeouts to extend the clock to have a slim hope if they got the ball back. However, nothing untoward transpired and soon, the Jets players were seen in a victory formation closing out the win.
After the Bengals worked so hard to get to the top of the AFC and their division, a cruel refereeing call has robbed them of their status as top dogs.
Also check out: Complete Thursday Night Football Schedule 2021
