Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh took major issue with a few of the calls in the Week 14 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers immediately after the game. The same remained the case with Harbaugh the following day.
While speaking to reporters Monday, Harbaugh criticized the NFL’s catch rule.
“[It] is about as clear as mud right now,” Harbaugh said of the league’s catch rule, via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. “That’s how I feel about it.
“We had a conversation with the league office and we appreciate that. It didn’t clear anything up. It didn’t make it any easier to understand.”
Replay review took away a touchdown from Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely late in the fourth quarter Sunday. The score would have given Baltimore a one-point lead with an extra point pending. But instead, the officials ruled Likely hadn’t made a football move in the end zone to complete the process of the catch.
Ravens fans and social media users questioned the decision to overrule Likely’s touchdown to an incomplete pass. CBS broadcasters Jim Nantz and Tony Romo each argued during the game the play should have been a score.
CBS rules expert Gene Steratore agreed with the decision to overturn the call to incomplete.
Former NFL Referees Explain Why Isaiah Likely Didn’t Score TD
In addition to his analysis during the fourth quarter, Steratore offered a social media explanation Sunday evening for why Likely’s catch was incomplete instead of a touchdown.
Fellow former referee and NBC football rules expert Terry McAulay also explained on X on Monday why the pass was correctly ruled incomplete.
It’s unclear what explanation the NFL offered Harbaugh that the Ravens head coach suggested wasn’t easy to understand. But both analysts offered strong, concise analysis that the average fan should be able to comprehend.
Critics have tried arguing that Likely extending his arms with the ball was “a football move” that should have met “the third element” Steratore referenced. McAulay explained why that argument is invalid.
Harbaugh’s comments are going to come across as sour grapes to most Steelers fans. It could stroke the fire in the heated AFC North rivalry, which will be renewed between the Ravens and Steelers in Week 18.
But it’s also understandable why Harbaugh, Ravens players and Baltimore fans are upset. Even though the right call appeared to be made, and the Ravens had a lot of other opportunities to beat the Steelers on Sunday, something like Likely’s overturned touchdown is always difficult for any team and fanbase to accept.
NFL Admits Wrong Call Made on Ravens Penalty vs. Steelers
Most of the focus from Sunday’s controversy between the Steelers and Ravens has been on Likely’s drop. Others have also discussed another play in the fourth quarter, where the officials ruled Aaron Rodgers completed a pass to himself. That completion was originally a Ravens interception before another overturn via replay.
But the officials made a more egregious error in the first half. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Baltimore on a Steelers field goal try rewarded Pittsburgh a first down. The Steelers scored a touchdown one play later.
Harbaugh told reporters Monday the league told him the penalty shouldn’t have been called.
If that penalty isn’t called, the Steelers would have led the Ravens by only one point in the fourth quarter. In that situation, even without Likely’s touchdown, Baltimore could have taken the lead with a field goal.
Instead, the possession where Likely dropped the touchdown resulted in a turnover on downs. The Steelers held on to win 27-22.
If Harbaugh and Ravens pundits want to continue to gripe about Sunday’s result, they should focus on the incorrectly called unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
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