The final play the Cincinnati Bengals offense ran Thursday night was marred by penalties. Only the referees didn’t call any of them.
The Baltimore Ravens were able to run out the clock following the kickoff and the rest is history.
After scoring to bring the tally to 35-34, the Bengals decided to go for two. They hadn’t stopped the Ravens on four straight possessions and they saw an opportunity to win the game. The decision was the right call.
After the snap, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was struck in the face by a Ravens defender as he threw the ball. The play was reminiscent of last week’s Thursday night game where Sam Darnold was grabbed by the facemask with no call to end the game.
As the play progressed, the Ravens also grabbed Cincinnati tight end Mike Gesicki and didn’t allow him to release. It’s an obvious defensive holding call. (He may have been acting a bit, though.)
Terry McAulay, the Amazon Prime officiating analyst, was critical of the no-call as was Al Michaels on play by play. Either penalty would have given the Bengals another chance from the one-yard line instead of the two.
Instead, the game more or less ended when the Bengals’ onside kick failed.
Now Baltimore is in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot while the Bengals sit all the way back in ninth.
