Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had his house robbed while leading his team to a 27-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.
The league’s officials robbed Burrow during the game with a missed call on a third-down play during a Bengals fourth-quarter drive. With the game tied at 20, officials missed an obvious facemask penalty on the Cowboys’ defense.
A mistake by the league officials
The play should have resulted in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down for Cincinnati. Instead, the Bengals were forced to punt the ball away.
NFL fans and ESPN’s broadcast booth thought the missed call was egregious. Not only did the lack of penalty hurt the Bengals during a close game, but Burrow could have been seriously injured with how he was brought down via the helmet by linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.
No repercussions for hitting Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow
Per the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the league doubled down on its lack of care about a play that could have injured one of the sport’s best quarterbacks. Overshown was not fined for what should have been flagged as an illegal tackle.
“As the NFL publicly weighs whether to make facemask penalties subject to expedited replay review, consider this: There was no fine issued on this play involving Bengals QB Joe Burrow last week,” Pelissero posted on X.
As the NFL publicly weighs whether to make facemask penalties subject to expedited replay review, consider this:
There was no fine issued on this play involving #Bengals QB Joe Burrow last week.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 14, 2024
NFL fans reacted to the lack of a fine on social media.
“Burrow has been abused all season and still is the top qb. There is little love for him for the refs. It’s hard to watch the beating he takes Week in and out and there is rarely a call to protect him,” posted a fan.
“Refs should fined for missed calls or they need to make all plays/penalties reviewable,” suggested a fan. “The refs have been bad. How many times do we have to see missed penalties not called and cost a team a possession or a chance to win/tie a game before they make a change. It’s ridiculous.”
“So no fine here but Pacheco gets 45k for some minor helmet contact? Can’t justify the impotence from the league on these fines,” wrote another.
“Burrow has had it happen repeatedly this yr on game changing plays. And has NEVER been called. And had several bad calls on them that were game changing. Trust me, we get the frustration,” posted a fan.
“That’s absolute malpractice. Za’Darius Smith in Detroit was fined for a half hearted helmet smack to Jordan Love but you can literally try to rip [Burrow’s} head off via his helmet and there’s no fine,” posted another.
“Please compare this play to the Pacheco $45K fine and see if it’s equitable to half-break a franchise QB’s neck,” wrote a fan.
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