National Football League

Bengals suffer effects of late whistles in Super Bowl loss

Published Feb. 14, 2022 7:27 p.m. ET

The Los Angeles Rams' final drive of the 2021-22 season was one that will never be forgotten.

But for many onlookers, L.A. owes the referees a portion of the Lombardi Trophy, considering a few crucial whistles came during some of the game's most critical moments.

One notable whistle was blown on a third-and-goal on Cincinnati's 8-yard line. After driving nearly the length of the field in a five-minute possession that started on their own 21, the Rams were in position to erase their 20-16 deficit and take the lead. They clawed their way into the red zone, but Matthew Stafford came up empty on two quick throws toward the end zone, which set up a third-down snap with 1:47 to play.

After taking the snap, Stafford rifled a dart to Cooper Kupp, who was speeding across the middle of the field. The attempt was parried away by Bengals' linebacker Logan Wilson, setting up fourth down.

But Wilson was flagged for a defensive holding penalty, which gave the Ram a new set of downs and placed the pigskin at the 4-yard line.

Former NFL referee and current FOX Sports officiating analyst Mike Pereira disagreed with the now-infamous holding call on Wilson, saying that his actions were not egregious enough to incite a penalty.

"It's just not holding"

Mike Pereira analyzed the late holding call made against the Cincinnati Bengals and Logan Wilson, disagreeing with the call.

On the very next play, Cincy safety Vonn Bell received an unnecessary roughness infraction for a hit on Kupp in the end zone, but the penalty was offset by Rams tackle Rob Havenstein, who was levied with a holding penalty.

Then, on the next play, Eli Apple was hit with a defensive pass interference after a dicey one-on-one battle with Kupp.

Kupp caught the game-winning ball from Stafford two snaps later.

In summation, in three plays, Cincy saw the ball move from the 8-yard line to the 1-yard line, and those shifts came all on the strength of penalties.

Kupp's TD came with 1:25 remaining, and just moments later L.A. was lifting the Lombardi Trophy. Meanwhile, the Bengals were left in a pool of distress and with a barrage of questions for the officials.

But Shannon Sharpe believes those questions need to be of the introspective variety.

"I still believe the worst call of the game — Jalen Ramsey had his facemask twisted on a 75-yard touchdown," Sharpe asserted Monday on "Undisputed."

"Joe Burrow got the ball back with 1:25 left, and only needed three to tie the game and go to overtime. You had three tries to get one yard. … You threw one away to [Ja'Marr] Chase because you thought Ramsey was going to be nosy, you got stopped when Aaron Donald grabbed a guy with one arm and pulled him back, and then he blew the fourth-down play up. You didn't lose the game because of the officials."

It did appear that Cincinnati benefited from a missed call earlier in the game when on the first play of the second half, Tee Higgins beat Ramsey for a 75-yard TD, using some questionable tactics in the process.

Still, Skip Bayless disagreed with Sharpe, saying that the Rams were helped by some home cookin'.

"The hometown Hollywood Rams got called for a grand total of two penalties for 10 yards," Bayless retorted. "Logan Wilson is all over Cooper Kupp, and he touches him, but he doesn't grab a fistful of jersey. He plays the pass as beautifully as you can play it. I don't know how you can play it any better. He snuffed it out. It's as ticky-tack a call as we've seen all postseason."

The game's fourth quarter did represent an anomaly from its first three when it came to officiating. Only three penalties were called during the first three quarters (there were zero in the third), while three were administered in the last period, including two in the game's final 1:47. The offset penalties are not included in that tally.

The Rams received just two penalties for 10 yards on the day, while the Bengals had four for 31 yards.

Each side will look at those numbers through entirely different lenses. But in this case, the Rams will be more concerned with a single letter as opposed to any single number — the letter "W."