Josh Allen has found support from the fans after he received a bizarre flag penalty during last night’s match. The Buffalo Bills took on the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL’s game week 9 clash. Despite Allen’s heroics, the Bills lost the game against the Bengals. However, the match was marred with controversy after Allen received a questionable flag penalty.
The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Buffalo Bills to clinch their fifth victory of the season. The Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow put on a show as he completed 31 out of his 44 passes for 348 yards with two touchdowns. Running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Tee Higgins also had a good game. For the Bills, Josh Allen put in a good performance, completing 26 out of his 38 passes for 258 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
During the match, Josh Allen made a clever maneuver on Bengals safety Nick Scott for a touchdown. As Allen strolled into the end zone celebrating, he pointed rather cheekily at Scott. However, to Allen’s dismay, his taunt was deemed to be a penalty by the match officials. The referee awarded a 15-yard penalty against the Bills. Allen also received a second penalty in the match for intentionally grounding Bengals wide receiver Gabriel Davis.
Should Josh Allen have received a flag for this taunt? pic.twitter.com/Ew4ag7la81
— Chris Beasmore (@CBeasmoreSports) November 6, 2023
However, the match officials’ decision didn’t go down well with the NFL fans who think that the decision was too soft. Several fans, including the Cincinnati Bengals supporters, questioned the decision. Ultimately, the decisions proved costly for the Bills who succumbed to a 24-18 defeat against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, in this article, we will take a look at some of the worst penalty decisions given in the NFL‘s history.
2002 wild card game between the Giants and the 49ers
In 2002, the New York Giants took on the San Francisco 49ers in a wild-card game. The 49ers had a memorable night as they secured a comeback victory with a score of 39-38. However, many fans feel that the match ended with an officiating error that helped the 49ers to win the match.
On 1st and 10 at the 14-yard line(NY). Kerry Collins gets sacked by Dana Stubblefield. ✊️
He bows right through the double-team of Bober and Seubert to sack him for 10 yards, putting the Giants back at their own 4-yard line.
Throwback 2002 Week 1 TNF 🌃 49ers @ NY Giants pic.twitter.com/t7yk1WWxVe
— 49ers Throwback ❤💛 (@49ers_Throwback) August 31, 2023
During the game, a botched field goal attempt from the Giants ended in Matt Allen who passed to Rich Seubert, an eligible receiver. Seubert was immediately tackled to the ground by the 49ers, which should have been a pass interference call. However, the referee gave the decision against the Giants by calling a penalty on them for an illegal man downfield. However, the NFL later came up and accepted the mistake in the following days.
2015 penalty call during the Lions vs Packers game
In 2015, the Detroit Lions were on their way to a 23-21 victory against the Green Bay Packers with six seconds left. The Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was on his way to scoring a touchdown after combining with wide receiver James Jones. However, Rodgers was tackled by the Lions’ defensive end Devin Taylor who was flagged for a face-mask penalty (via Stadium Talk).
On this day in 2015, Aaron Rodgers completed the longest game-winning Hail Mary in NFL history 🙏
The Packers (-3) covered, and the over (46.5) hit on the play ✅pic.twitter.com/di57Matk1W
— FOX Bet Sportsbook (@FOXBet) December 3, 2021
This led to Aaron Rodgers winning the game for the Packers by 27-23 with a 61-yard Hail Mary pass to tight end Richard Rodgers. However, it was later found out in the replays that Taylor should never have been flagged for a penalty. Initially judged to be a face-makes penalty, it was found out that Taylor’s thumb had ever so slightly grazed the bottom of Aaron Rodgers’ face mask.
Super Bowl XL between the Steelers and the Seahawks
The Super Bowl XL was won by the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Seattle Seahawks with a 21-10 score. However, the Super Bowl XL is considered to be one of the most controversial Super Bowls in the NFL’s history. Many fans accused the match official of trying to help the Steelers. There were several questionable penalty calls in the match that continue to give nightmares to the NFL fans.
25. Super Bowl XL
PIT 21-SEA 10
In what turned out to be the most controversial Super Bowl in recent memory, Jerome Bettis got a storybook ending to his career, winning the long-elusive Super Bowl ring in his hometown of Detroit pic.twitter.com/0XkNksRnNd— Joseph #GoAvsGo🗻🏒 (@kerbauheehaw) October 19, 2021
Firstly, Steelers wide receiver Darrel Jackson was flagged for a pass interference call against Steelers cornerback Chris Hope. Secondly, several fans to this day still believe that the Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hadn’t scored a touchdown. While there were several other poor officiating calls in the match, almost every NFL fan agrees this was the worst officiated Super Bowl ever.
Snowplow game between the Patriots and the Dolphins
The 1982 game between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins was witness to one of the most strange games played in the NFL. On what was a very frigid day, the match remained scoreless late into the game. However, the Patriots had a chance to seal the game with an opportunity to score from a field goal.
With placekicker John Smith about to take the kick, the Patriots‘ head coach Ron Meyer instructed the snowplow operator to clear the field. The Dolphins coach later admitted that he should have stopped the Patriots from clearing the field. A year after the game, the NFL banned the use of snowplows on the field during the game.
The Bert Emanuel Rule
During the 1999 NFC Championship game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were losing 6-11 against the St. Louis Rams. Following a deep throw from quarterback Shaun King, the Buccaneers wide receiver Bert Emmanuel caught the ball in the Rams’ endzone. However, after a replay call, official Bill Carollo stated that the nose of the ball had touched the ground.
1999 NFC Championship. Bert Emmanuel Catch. https://t.co/wAIGPqjHs8 pic.twitter.com/BvyAiKWxLk
— infinitimore (@bjynxthegawd) April 2, 2023
Therefore, the play was flagged by the referee to be an incomplete pass, despite Emmanuel catching the ball legally. With the Buccaneers losing the match, there was immense controversy about what is considered to be a valid pass reception. This led to the NFL clarifying its rules which later came to be known as the Bert Emmanuel Rule.