After Further Review: Jets-Bears officiating

by Site Admin

By popular demand, we're again going to have a post after each game that breaks down some of the controversial decisions from the officiating crew in the game.

Penalty Count

Bears 1-10 (leading to zero Jets first downs)

Jets 1-5 (leading to zero Bears first downs)

Note: This does not include penalties that are declined or off-set.

Plays where the call was obvious, uncontroversial or not visible on broadcast footage

Jets Penalties

  • Downfield pass interference penalty on Sauce Gardner. Didn't look back for the ball and made contact while the ball was still in the air. This was declined anyway because the pass was caught.
  • Garrett Wilson illegal shift. Wasn't set as the ball was snapped, having shifted his position as he looked unsure as to whether or not he was, or needed to be, on the line. This was notable because it was the first accepted penalty of the day for either team and the only one on the Jets all day. It came in the last minute of the first half.

Bears Penalties

  • Illegal shift. This was unclear from the broadcast footage but the Jets declined it anyway as they stopped the Bears short of the marker on third down.
  • Braxton Jones holding penalty to negate a 12-yard run. Dragged CJ Mosley down at the second level. This was notable because it was the only flag thrown against either team in the entire second half and the only accepted penalty on the Bears all day.

Penalties warranting further discussion or explanation

Jets Penalties

  • Cedric Ogbuehi holding. Reached across to pull down the defensive end on a play where there was also an offsetting defensive holding penalty.

Bears Penalties

  • Justin Jones defensive holding on a running play. Grabbed Laken Tomlinson with his left arm to prevent him from climbing to the second level on a play where there was also an offensive hold.
  • Kindle Vildor defensive holding on Wilson's first touchdown. Wilson fended him off at the goal line and there was a momentary concern that it might be an offensive pass interference call to negate the touchdown but it was clear that Vildor grabbed him before the pass was thrown.

Notable no-calls etc

Obviously in a game where there were so few calls, there were some examples of things that could have been called, but at least you can say the officiating must have been balanced. There were also no replay reviews.

Nevertheless, here were some of the notable missed calls and controversial moments:

  • Gardner was draped all over the receiver in the end zone on third down but there was a no-call. He didn't look back for the ball but got away with the contact on the basis he was resting his hands on the receiver rather than shoving or impeding his ability to make a play on the ball. This could easily have been called though.
  • On the play where Gardner was called for pass interference there was some doubt as to whether the receiver came down in bounds, but it did look like his hip was down first inbounds before his should landed out of bounds.
  • On the botched field goal attempt, Braden Mann's attempted (and ill-advised) two-handed shovel was correctly ruled as an incomplete forward pass. This couldn't be intentional grounding because he tried to throw it to an opponent.
  • On the play before Ty Johnson's touchdown, Bam Knight was ruled to have fumbled as he stumbled to the ground without being touched and lost control of the ball. It rolled out of bounds anyway so no harm was done, but if the Bears had recovered, it would have had to be reviewed to double-check that he didn't make contact with one of them before the ball came loose.

Let us know what we missed - or misinterpreted - in the comments...