A brutal no-call during Sunday Night Football between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. Photo Credit: NBC Photo Credit: NBC
By Matt Clapp on

The New England Patriots clinched a playoff spot with a 28-24 road victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football, but they had to overcome poor officiating on the go-ahead drive to get the win.

Trailing 24-21, the Patriots had first-and-10 from their own 44-yard line with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw a deep ball that wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was very close to coming down with, but he had to deal with a lot of contact from Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey.

NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico even referred to the contact as “a tackle” from Humphrey in real time.

But there was no flag for defensive pass interference or any penalty against Humphrey and Baltimore.

Tirico, color commentator Cris Collinsworth, and rules analyst Terry McAulay couldn’t believe that there wasn’t a penalty against the Ravens.

“Boutte tackled by Humphrey, who slaps the ball away!” Tirico said as the play unfolded.

“What just happened?” Collinsworth exclaimed.

“I don’t see a flag, and it was not a catch because it got slapped away,” Tirico said. “And now there’s a conversation. It’s called incomplete. And is there no flag on the play?”

NBC then showed replays.

“Oh, that’s a tackle on the part of Humphrey,” Collinsworth said. “And the ball never got settled, and then he just swatted the thing away!”

“Oh my goodness!” Tirico responded. “We saw it live!”

“That’s what I couldn’t understand!” Collinsworth said. “I was like, what happened?”

“I called it in the middle of the play!” Tirico explained. “He was wrapped up! And then it got slapped away. And the athletic training staff is looking at Kayshon Boutte, who is injured (Boutte suffered a head injury on the play). Wow, did Baltimore dodge one there. My goodness!”

After Tirico asked NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay about the ruling of no catch, Collinsworth followed up with another question for McAulay.

“Now, a harder question,” Collinsworth said. “Why is that not pass interference?”

“It’s not really hard,” McAulay responded with a laugh. “That’s pass interference. That’s obvious pass interference, Cris. Not a hard question at all.”

Fortunately for the Patriots, they still went on to score what would serve as the game-winning touchdown later on the drive.

A brutal no-call during Sunday Night Football between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. Photo Credit: NBC
But that doesn’t excuse a brutal missed call that could’ve easily been a major factor in the result of a game with huge postseason implications. It’s been far too frequent around the league this year, and on primetime broadcasts for a lot of these. Credit Tirico, Collinsworth, and McAulay for not being afraid to call it out.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.

He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Matt Clapp