League privately acknowledged blown calls in Steelers vs Bears

According to NFL Network reporters Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, members of the NFL officiating department have acknowledged multiple calls in last weeks’ Pittsburgh Steelers game the officials missed that favorited the Steelers over the Bears.

In the article, it notes three in particular including a late hit by outside linebacker Alex Highsmith on Bears quarterback Justin Fields. There’s no doubt according to the rule this should have been flagged for a roughing penalty.

But none of them were. And honestly, so what? The Steelers have been on the wrong end of horrible officiating just as many times as they have ever benefited from inept officiating. Such is the state of the NFL. The league has no intention of ever changing how it officiates games so we circle right back to here. Officiating is inept but not corrupt.

Every week Steelers fans labor through missed holds on T.J. Watt, missed false starts by tackles lined up over Watt and have spent more than a decade wondering why Ben Roethlisberger’s size doesn’t afford him the same protections other quarterbacks get when it comes to roughing calls.

In the end, none of it matters. Stories about bad officiating aren’t even stories and frankly, the league shouldn’t even both to acknowledge them unless they are willing to implement changes to fix the problem.

Members of the NFL’s officiating department privately acknowledged that officials erred on at least three critical calls and non-calls that went against the #Bears on Monday night.

From me and @RapSheet: https://t.co/VqN9Pa7iiY

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 14, 2021