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NFL playoffs: the most noteworthy refereeing errors
#3 - Tyler Boyd’s touchdown
The 2021 season was a historic one for the Cincinnati Bengals. The team made their first Super Bowl appearance since 1988, and star quarterback Joe Burrow won NFL Comeback Player of the Year after winning the AFC North. In their first playoff win since 1990, the referees were on their side too.
During the second quarter of their playoff bout against the Las Vegas Raiders, Burrow headed out of bounds but threw a dart into wide receiver Tyler Boyd’s hands in the end zone to put the Bengals up 20-6. The only problem was that officials thought Burrow was out of bounds before the throw, so they blew their whistles. Upon review, though, he was still in bounds, so the touchdown had to stand. The Raiders argued they stopped after the whistle, but there wasn’t anything the referees could do about it!
#2 - Did Dez Catch it?
Dez Bryant’s catch, or non-catch, will go down as one of the most controversial refereeing calls in NFL history. In the Dallas Cowboys’ 2015 NFC Divisional playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers, Dallas was down five points in the fourth quarter and went for it on the fourth down, and Dez Bryant caught Tony Romo’s pass, or did he?
Bryant jumps to catch the ball, and as he’s going down, he attempts to reach the goal line in the same motion. He didn’t reach the goal line getting to the one-yard line, but Bryant lost his grip on the ball, so the play was challenged by Green Bay and overturned, much to the dismay of the Cowboys as they lost the game much to the confusion of NFL fans across the globe.
#1 - The "Tuck Rule"
The "Tuck rule" will forever be associated with Tom Brady. In a 2001 playoff game between the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders, Brady’s first-ever playoff game, the Patriots had the ball but were losing 13-10 with less than two minutes left on the clock. That was when Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson blitzed TB12 and forced him to fumble, a fumble that Oakland recovered. However, after a review, the officials called it an incomplete pass, as Brady’s arm was moving forward.
The ruling on the field was changed due to the little-known "Tuck Rule," which states: "When a player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back towards his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble.”
Brady kept hold of the football down the field as Adam Vinatieri kicked a final second field goal to send the game into overtime before repeating the trick in OT to win the game. The Patriots would win Super Bowl XXXV against the St. Louis Rams, which kickstarted their dynasty.
Brady knew how vital that call was, saying:
"I'm probably the backup quarterback going into 2002. I'm not the starter if we lose that game.”
Despite this, the jury is still out on whether the right call was made by the officials that day, and had they called it differently, the entire history of the NFL could have been altered.
