After Further Review: Jets-Bengals Officiating

By popular demand, we're again going to have a post after each game that breaks down some of the controversial decisions from the officiating crew in the game.

Penalty Count

Bengals 5-30 (leading to two Jets first downs)
Jets 4-55 (leading to two Bengals first downs)

Note: This does not include penalties that are declined or off-set.

Plays where the call was obvious, uncontroversial or not visible on broadcast footage

Jets Penalties

  • Corey Davis unnecessary roughness after a play. This wasn't available on the broadcast because the network lost the feed, but apparently he grabbed Eli Apple's facemask as the two were trash talking.

Bengals Penalties

  • Delay of game on the first series.
  • Defensive holding on Chidobe Awuzie. This happened off-screen as he was leaning on Elijah Moore's upfield route.
  • Another delay of gain on 3rd-and-10 late in the first half. The only point of interest here is that the announcers were noting how teams are not getting the customary extra second of leeway this year (although mysteriously Tom Brady still did get that on yesterday's late touchdown).
  • Awuzie jumped offside on a field goal, but it was good anyway so it didn't matter.
  • Zachary Carter illegal hands to the face. Clear violation, as he popped Max Mitchell's head back like a pez dispenser.

Penalties warranting further discussion or explanation

Jets Penalties

  • John Franklin-Myers roughing the passer. This was a huge play that negated a third down stop right before the Bengals' second touchdown. Franklin-Myers pursued Joe Burrow across the field and gave him a little shove after the pass was released, then his momentum led to him landing on top of him. It's not clear which of those two elements the flag was for, or if either of them taken on their own would have been enough to draw a penalty. The shove wasn't much, but it was late and it was arguably unnecessary, but then again he was running into Burrow and would likely have clattered into him anyway if he didn't shove him away. It's a tough one to break down but it seems like most Jets fans were frustrated with him for being reckless.
  • Lamarcus Joyner helmet to helmet hit. This came on the play where Tee Higgins caught a 45-yard pass on Ahmad Gardner. This was absolutely reckless and seemed like the kind of hit the NFL has been talking about ejecting people for in recent years. Robert Saleh was rightly pissed at Quincy Williams in preseason for his late hit, but this was just as bad. It was good to see Higgins return to the game.
  • George Fant holding penalty. Fant's assignment required him to slow up the pass rusher and then release him to go block downfield but he held him a bit too long and had his hand outside the pass rusher's body so it was a good call.
  • Laken Tomlinson ineligible receiver downfield penalty on the same play (a screen pass for no gain). Mitchell was actually the first to be illegally downfield, but Tomlinson ran past him and was like 7-8 yards downfield when the pass was released. As was the case when Connor McGovern had one of these a few weeks ago, Joe Flacco was the issue here, as he hesitated and got the ball out too late, throwing off the timing for the linemen whose assignment is to bluff pass protection and then take off downfield.

Bengals Penalties

  • Holding on Cordell Volson to negate a touchdown on a shovel pass. Volson clearly had his hand grabbing the outside of Williams' shoulder to prevent him from getting to the ball carrier.

Notable no-calls etc

Here were some of the notable missed calls, controversial moments or review situations:

  • Considering this was a Jerome Boger crew, it was stunning how few penalties there were. His crews notoriously call a bunch of ticky-tack penalties in coverage and rarely seem to favor the Jets.
  • The replay booth was kind to the Jets this week, otherwise it could have been a bigger blowout. On the first review, Higgins was ruled out of bounds on a leaping catch at the back of the end zone although his toes were in. This seemed correct as his heel seemed to graze the turf but you could imagine that going against the Jets on another day.
  • The Chase fumble was also upheld, but it was unclear if he truly made a football move before losing the ball as he tucked it away. Again that could easily have gone against the Jets.
  • The Jets had a successful review of the Chase juggling catch near the pylon. This meant it was 4th-and-4 instead of 4th-and-1, so the Bengals settled for a field goal. This one looked clear.
  • The Bengals also unsuccessfully challenged Garrett Wilson's low catch. The broadcast didn't give us any replays of this one because they lost the feed.
  • Flacco had a couple of plays where he threw the ball as he was going down and the first was ruled a sack when it could have been a fumble while the other was ruled incomplete when it could have been intentional grounding.
  • Wilson's catch on the play where he was hurt wasn't reviewed but it wasn't clear that he "survived the ground" before letting the ball go.
  • CJ Mosley could have been penalized for inadvertently kneeing Burrow in the head on a slide, but wasn't.
  • Apple jumped onto and slid down the goalpost after a third down stop, which the NFL has previously determined is a personal foul because Antonio Brown did it once after a touchdown.

Let us know what we missed - or misinterpreted - in the comments...