It is a day ending in “Y,’ so there’s clearly bad officiating going on in the NFL, and that’s certainly been true in Thursday night’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. The culprit in this particular day ending in “Y” is referee Adrian Hill and his crew, who made more than one atrocious call.
The first blown call took a touchdown off the board for the Ravens. With 5:15 left in the first half, Lamar Jackson hit receiver Zay Flowers on a quick pass, and Flowers did the rest, taking the ball for what certainly looked like a 68-yard touchdown.
Somehow, Hill’s crew called holding on receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and the touchdown was nullified.
This Odell Beckham Jr. “hold” just wiped off a 68-yard Zay Flowers TD. You be the judge: Good call or bad call. pic.twitter.com/BTrNlzNynD
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) November 17, 2023
Then, with 54 seconds left in the first half, Jackson threw an incomplete pass to Flowers, but Bengals cornerback DJ Turner was flagged for defensive pass interference. If you can see defensive pass interference anywhere on this play, you have better eyes than we do.
“pass interference” pic.twitter.com/Ugeb2F12pC
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 17, 2023
Hill’s crew has not been impressive this season, but the Thursday night work has been particularly sub-par, and Twitter was letting the refs have it.
This might be the worst officiated game in Adrian Hill’s career
— Navraj Singh (@PlantBasedSingh) November 17, 2023
Officiating in the #NFL remains an absolute disaster
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 17, 2023
A look at the pass interference call on DJ Turner.
You make the call.
I’m going to confidently say this isn’t even close to PI. Pretty sure everyone agrees too. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/hEyPruUd6Y
— Joey DeBerardino (@JoeyDeBerardino) November 17, 2023
And this is Pass interference? These refs are anticipating calls. This isn’t a flag. #TNFonPrime #Bengals #Ravens pic.twitter.com/TUkoyDkujg
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) November 17, 2023
Underthrown deep balls 🤝 Pass Interference
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) November 17, 2023
The officials first called Tyler Huntley, not Odell Beckham Jr., for the hold that brought back Zay Flowers' touchdown.
Huntley, like Beckham, also didn't commit a holding penalty on the play.
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) November 17, 2023
It’s getting old watching the game I love being ruined by crappy officiating.
And it’s not just the bengals, it’s every, single game every, single week. It sucks across the entire landscape of the NFL.
— Andrew Russell (@Andrew_Russell7) November 17, 2023