Rules analyst Gene Steratore is generally quick to point out when officials have blown a call, but he appeared to give them the benefit of the doubt Saturday.
Los Angeles Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker booted a 38-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first half against the New England Patriots. On the NFL Network broadcast, the replay seemed to show the ball going wide right. Play-by-play man Chris Rose and analyst Ross Tucker were both skeptical about the call, discussing the kick as the Gillette Stadium crowd booed.
“Those guys (officials) were looking at each other,” Tucker said.
“And the crowd is reacting to seeing it on the big board — they don’t think it was good,” Rose said.
Enter Steratore (who usually works for CBS, but has been tabbed for some outside broadcasts, including this one and the Netflix Christmas Day ones), who quickly explained the rule for a made field goal.
“In the NFL, the entire football must go inside the outside part of the upright,” Steratore said. “So the upright can be involved. But the entire football must go inside the outside of the upright. As you guys can see, even with this angle, it’s very difficult to tell where that football is when it does get to right where the upright is.”
Steratore played it safe there, saying the evidence seemed inconclusive, despite the video angle showing what looked like a kick going wide right. Rose tried to pin him down to take a stronger stance.
“Gene, every former referee has a goal post in their backyard,” Rose said. “If you were standing under it, which way would you call it?”
“Those are not as easy as people think,” Steratore said. “That’s a tough call sometimes, fellas.”
Are we sure this field goal kick from Cameron Dicker was actually good? 🏈🦓🎙️ #NFL pic.twitter.com/B6f5ff41ih
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 28, 2024
Tucker and Rose later mused about how the league could alleviate these borderline calls on kicks.
“Maybe we need higher goal posts,” Tucker said.
“How high do you want to extend them, five-six stories?” Rose asked.
“I don’t know, I feel like that happens once every few games,” Tucker responded.
Steratore spent 15 years as an NFL referee before retiring in 2018. As noted, he has shown he’s not afraid to call out officials overall. with many commenters mentioning that while ranking him second in our rules analyst poll this fall. But this is not the first time he hasn’t called for a reversal on a play that video seemed to indicate should have gone the other way.
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About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.