The Week 14 Ravens-Steelers game featured multiple mistakes by the officials. At the time, the NFL admitted one. Today, the league admitted another.
The third was apparently admitted, until it wasn't.
For starters, the league admitted after the game that an unnecessary roughness penalty called on defensive tackle Travis Jones was not a foul. On Tuesday, the NFL confirmed to PFT that the decision to use replay review to reverse a Ravens interception by linebacker Teddye Buchanan into a catch by Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was an error.
Along the way, the league did — then didn’t — say that the controversial touchdown catch by Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely was incorrectly overturned to an incompletion. The NFL's official position continues to be that the decision was accurate. (We still believe it was a catch, with the replay process focusing on whether Likely took a third step and ignoring the other ways to complete the process.)
Multiple Ravens players have noticed today's developments. Said quarterback Lamar Jackson on Twitter, "So technically we won? 10-7. 1st offseason win ever."
Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy had more to add.
"Have we ever seen the NFL come out months after a game has been played (a couple weeks after the entire nfl season finished) and admitted they didn’t get 1 huge crucial call in the biggest NFL rivalry game," Van Noy tweeted. "But they got 2 Crucial calls in same Game wrong!!! So the total was 3 horrible calls in 1 game…. That's insane! 1. INT Rodgers , 2. Likely touchdown , and 3. Travis Jones 15 yarder on field goal (they came out with this Tuesday after the game saying they got it wrong). Wow !!!! Accountability kinda sorta not really but something kinda… We need some sort of action now because this can not happen at the highest level. I understand 1 but 3????? Smh."
SMH indeed. The mistakes directly impacted the outcome of a key AFC North game, and may have directly impacted the division championship, with the Steelers and not the Ravens advancing to the postseason.