After Further Review: Jets-Bucs 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

Bucs 4-39 (leading to zero Jets first downs)
Jets 2-14 (leading to one Bucs 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

  • Laurent Duvernay-Tardif false start. Came out of his stance too early.
  • Chuma Edoga holding. Blatantly grabbed Ndamukong Suh around the shoulder pad area after the play got extended.

Bucs Penalties

  • Suh offside on the first play of the game. Jumped into the neutral zone.
  • Joe Tryon-Shoyinka jumped offside before the snap.
  • Unsportsmanlike conduct on Ryan Jensen. Whatever he did here apparently happened off-screen but he easily could have had on on the previous play as he was throwing his weight around.
  • Unsportsmanlike conduct on Ali Marpet. Again, this happened off-screen. With two pro bowl linemen another unsportsmanlike away from being ejected, it's surprising the Jets weren't able to bait them into further scuffles.

Penalties warranting further discussion or explanation

Jets Penalties

  • Bryce Hall pass interference on Mike Evans. A moot point because he made the catch anyway but unless there was a subtle grab somewhere that wasn't obvious from the angles shown on TV this looked extremely soft.
  • Ronnie Blair face mask penalty. This seemed like Blair reached across and pulled the ball carrier down by the shoulder. At worst, he got a finger caught up in the face mask momentarily, but didn't seem to grab, pull or twist and released almost immediately.
  • Brandin Echols defensive holding. This negated Nathan Shepherd's sack, although it was offset by an offensive hold. Echols did grab Evans by the shoulder pad down the field and well away from the ball.

Bucs Penalties

  • Donovan Smith offensive holding on a play where the Jets recorded a sack anyway but it was negated due to offsetting penalties. Bear-hugged Bryce Huff after he got past him cleanly.
  • Delay of game on Tom Brady. Clearly snapped after the clock went to zero even with the leeway officials usually give. Apparently screaming obscenities in the official's face didn't warrant an unsportsmanlike penalty.

Notable no-calls

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

  • Bizarrely, there wasn't a single penalty called within the last 21 minutes. The officials apparently just decided to let them play.
  • Tyron-Shoyinka also jumped early on a goal line play that got stuffed, although it's possible he didn't step across into the neutral zone until the ball was snapped.
  • Alijah Vera-Tucker was perhaps lucky not to be called for a hold as he dragged his man down, unnecessarily, on the Braxton Berrios touchdown run.
  • Zach Wilson threw an incompletion to the flat which looked like it went backwards as it bounced out of bounds. A Bucs challenge could have made that a lot of about five or six yards instead of no gain.
  • Brady wanted defensive holding on Will Parks as he dirted a screen pass in the first half. Parks was all over the running back and it would have been a soft call.
  • Mike Edwards never got his head turned on a deep throw to Berrios and appeared to make contact before the ball arrived. Ironically an underthrown pass there would definitely have drawn a flag.
  • It was surprising not to see a roughing the passer penalty on the Deuce Carter sack because he didn't lay Brady down gently on the turf, read him a bed time story and sing him a lullaby.
  • Rob Gronkowski wanted a pass interference call where he simply seemed to get his feet tangled with the Jets' defensive back.
  • Rachad Wildgoose was shoved back into Berrios' lap as he took a fair catch, leading to some fans wanting an interference call. However, there's actually nothing illegal about that.
  • Jamel Dean blatantly grabbed Berrios going over the middle for a diving conversion. It didn't matter because the Jets got the first down anyway but this was a bad missed call.
  • Wilson was praised for running a play quickly after Keelan Cole's catch near the goal line. Some speculated that this might be because it wasn't certain if Cole made the catch. However, it was clear he did. Instead, it could perhaps have been a fumble as he was tackled to the turf, but if it was, Ty Johnson recovered it for a touchdown so they would actually want that reviewed. As it turned out he was down anyway and Wilson was probably just trying to catch the defense on their heels.
  • The Bucs got a generous spot on the 3rd-and-20 conversion. This was initially ruled short but then the eye-in-the-sky gave it to them, even though it looked short.
  • Shepherd might have been called for a low hit on Brady but that would have been an awful call because he was clearly falling as he came off the block rather than diving in low.
  • Antonio Brown wasn't penalized for being on the field because he wasn't interfering with play, according to Mike Pereira. However, what about 12 men on the field? Or a personal foul for entering the field of play with inadequate equipment? That might have been relevant if the ball was in play but the Bucs were huddling up at the time.
  • Breshad Perriman was correctly ruled down as the ball came loose at the end of a play.
  • Brady spiked a throw into the dirt as he lost control of the ball but the ball was still thrown forward so there is no fumble and no intentional grounding because it wasn't intentional.
  • The officials picked up a flag late in the game. This may have been called as a face mask on Hamsah Nasirildeen but then the other official came over and corrected the call because he was actually pulled down legally without any facemask contact.
  • Berrios was tripped as he got his feet caught up with Dean, similar to the Gronkowski play. However, there was clearly a grab earlier on in the route that Dean got away with.

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