Fans of bad officiating were treated to a masterclass from the crew calling Saturday afternoon’s playoff game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Las Vegas Raiders. If there is good news for the teams, it’s that both of them were on the receiving end of a call that would have made them furious — at the end of the first half, an accidental whistle should have marked a play where the Bengals scored dead, and during the third quarter, Las Vegas were rather fortunate to be afforded a time out on a play where Joe Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for a big gain that would have set Cincinnati up for a first-and-goal from the Raiders’ six.
On top of that, the crew originally ruled this third-and-4 completion a Hunter Renfrow a catch and a fumble before the Bengals challenged and got it changed to an incomplete catch.
https://twitter.com/FTB_Vids_YT/status/1482499231491375107
It wasn’t good! Considering the stakes that come with playoff games, you’d think there would be some better officiating going on. But instead, it’s drawn a whole lot of scrutiny from folks on the internet.
https://twitter.com/normcharlatan/status/1482495725208363009
The referees today pic.twitter.com/NFQPN1xcIF
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 15, 2022
NFL referees whenever they officiate any game pic.twitter.com/g21DS90L44
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) January 15, 2022
just one game into the playoffs and it's already Tweeting Out The Photo Of The Refs Spelling Out BRUH O'Clock. pic.twitter.com/aXzrpA71fl
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) January 15, 2022
These refs pic.twitter.com/cnMiELIaRg
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) January 15, 2022
We interrupt NFL playoff football to repeatedly correct these referee errors.
— Field Gulls (@FieldGulls) January 15, 2022
This crew should absolutely not work any more games after this one. Frankly, they should be fired before they get to the referee's locker room after the game is over.
— The Daily Norseman ░V░I░K░ I░N░G░S░ ░I░N░ ░B░I░0░ (@DailyNorseman) January 15, 2022
They say social media is dividing us but I see an entire timeline coming together for a common cause: Hating on refs. This is what healing looks like.
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) January 15, 2022
No matter how bad your bets are doing today, they're doing better than these refs 😂
— br_betting (@br_betting) January 16, 2022
The refs today pic.twitter.com/ngqtlnlgGc
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) January 15, 2022
This game’s crew, which is headed by longtime official Jerome Boger, has come under a whole lot of fire from fans who have, well, seen them do games before.
https://twitter.com/lib_crusher/status/1482498812749000704
No one considered what having two more playoff teams and games meant in terms of needing two extra referee crews https://t.co/RUn2Si0OIY
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) January 15, 2022
Text from an NFC exec: “I’m SHOCKED that Jerome Boger’s crew f—-d up. SHOCKED.”
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 15, 2022
Jerome Boger is getting the inadvertant whistle out of the newscycle by screwing up on every play. It's called 4D chess and I'm sorry you guys can't appreciate it.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) January 15, 2022
I don’t know how the NFL can expect us to assume integrity in a playoff game when you send Jerome Boger, consistently the worst ref in the league, to officiate it.
— Jared Stillman (@JaredStillman) January 15, 2022
Jerome Boger is an embarrassment. To run him out in a playoff game is such an FU to all of us. Just a major joke. Clown show
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) January 15, 2022
These refs are having the time of the life
Its the Jerome Boger show featuring the Raiders and Bengals
— Frank Fleming (@NjTank99) January 15, 2022
I have no idea why Jerome Boger is reffing a playoff game.
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) January 15, 2022
Jerome Boger is singlehandedly making me not enjoy football. C'mon man, bury that whistle down your gullet and let them play
— Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP) January 15, 2022
Rule number one of officiating is to never be so bad that people learn your name, so it’s safe to say the refs in this game broke that rule over and over again.
