Referee Jerome Boger and the group that worked the AFC wild-card game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals are not relied upon to officiate again this postseason after their risky performance Saturday featured by a controversial whistle.
The NFL grades authorities after each game, and Boger and his team are not relied upon to get high marks for Saturday, when they decided that a whistle happened after Cincinnati’s Tyler Boyd got a touchdown from Joe Burrow – – in spite of the fact that replays seemed to show otherwise.
The league normally takes authorities relegated to the divisional round – – not the wild-card round – – to work the Super Bowl. Yet, authorities that procure high grades this weekend could and would be getting looked at for the Super Bowl.
One league source didn’t communicate surprise at Boger’s performance; others around the league have remarked on it during different points of the season, and the NFL has gotten mixed reviews for mixing its officiating groups in postseason games, taking authorities from various teams and allotting them to cooperate.
Boyd’s score gave Cincinnati a 20-6 lead with just shy of two minutes staying in the primary half Saturday. Tunnel moved right to stay away from pressure and tossed from near the sideline. Play proceeded notwithstanding a wrong whistle by an authority, who thought Burrow got outside the alloted boundaries. Boyd got the 10-yard pass toward the rear of the end zone, and the play counted regardless of fights from the Raiders, who refered to the standard that the ball ought to be gotten back to the past spot.
NFL senior VP of administering Walt Anderson said after the game that Boger and his group “did not feel that the whistle was blown before the receiver caught the ball.”
“We confirmed with the referee and the crew that on that play — they got together and talked — they determined that they had a whistle, but that the whistle for them on the field was blown after the receiver caught the ball,” Anderson said, according to a pool report.
Accidental and additionally mistaken whistles are not reviewable under the NFL’s present moment replay rules.
“In the moment, we didn’t know because we heard a whistle,” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “The ref said he was out, and then they said it was a touchdown — and then there was no review. So we were just like, ‘All right,’ so we just kept going. We had our opportunities. We just didn’t capitalize.”
Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia repeated Crosby’s feelings, saying he had “no problems with the officiating today.”
The Bengals held off the Raiders’ late rally for a 26-19 triumph, their first postseason win in 31 years.