Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called the league Monday seeking clarification after a key touchdown in the team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers the day before was called back.
After hanging up the phone, Harbaugh was as confused as before the call.
“It’s all as clear as mud now,” Harbaugh said of the NFL’s receiving rules. “That’s how I feel.”
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson found Isaiah Leckley late in the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon and it looked like Leckley had scored the go-ahead touchdown. Even CBS analyst Tony Romo is confident in the show as officials watch it.
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But after review, officials reversed their decision and determined it was not a touchdown. The Ravens didn’t score again and the Steelers escaped with a 27-22 victory.
“The receiver takes control of the ball in the air, puts his right foot down, then puts his left foot down,” said Mark Butterworth, NFL vice president of instant replay. “Control is the first aspect of catching the ball. The second aspect is having both feet or body parts in bounds, which he does have.
“Then the third step is a common action in the game. The ball was pulled out before the third foot landed. So, this is an incomplete pass.”
After the game, many Ravens players in the locker room were angry. DeAndre Hopkins deleted a social media post criticizing officiating, and running back Derrick Henry said it’s tough “when the game is in the referee’s hands.”
Harbaugh spoke to the league about the decision and Aaron Rodgers’ interception being reversed on Monday.
“That doesn’t clarify anything,” Harbaugh said. “It doesn’t make it any easier to understand either of those calls. It’s hard for them to understand how they were overturned, but they did and that’s what’s happening now.”
As for whether the call cost the Ravens the game, Harbaugh paused.
“You never know what’s going to cost you the game,” he said.
Regardless, the results hold. The Ravens are 6-7 on the season and fell out of first place in the AFC North with this loss. They’re now ninth in the AFC standings and will have to be nearly perfect the rest of the way, starting Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, if they want to make the playoffs for the fourth straight time.