After Further Review: Jets-Colts

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

Colts 5-40 (leading to zero Jets first downs)

Jets 2-14 (leading to zero Colts 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

  • Olu Fashanu offensive holding. A tug on the outside arm to prevent his man from getting to the edge, so this was a fair call. Assessed one yard past the line so it was only a nine-yard penalty.

Colts Penalties

  • False start on Braden Smith. Not clear from the broadcast footage but it looked like he dropped into his stance prematurely.
  • Illegal formation on a kickoff. Someone was moving as the kicker ran up.
  • Holding on Ashton Dulin. Reached across Isaiah Oliver and grabbed his jersey.

Penalties warranting further discussion or explanation

Jets Penalties

  • Alijah Vera-Tucker false start. Out of his stance before anyone else but it was pretty much as the ball was being snapped and the sort of thing players sometimes get away with. The amazing thing was that this was the Jets first penalty of the game and it came early in the fourth quarter.

Colts Penalties

  • Fair catch interference on Dulin. Was being blocked by Oliver and if the officials deemed he was blocked into the return man this would not be a penalty. It was marginal, as he was released right before almost bumping into Xavier Gipson who couldn't get to the ball and had to let it bounce past him.
  • Defensive delay of game on EJ Speed. Prevented the Jets from getting up to spike the ball, stopping the clock in the closing seconds. A dumb play by him, although you can often get away with this and obviously the Jets didn't punish it.

Notable no-calls etc

Here were some of the other notable missed calls, replay situations and controversial moments:

  • Jeremy Ruckert was originally ruled to have fumbled with a touchdown return by the Colts but it was clear that he dropped the ball before making a move up the field and replay assist corrected this.
  • Tyler Conklin was marked short on his 4th down sneak and there definitely wasn't anything that could have overturned this on a challenge.
  • Similarly Jonathan Taylor was marked just short on 3rd-and-short and didn't seem to get to the marker.
  • Jalen Mills seemed to have been held on a successful screen pass.
  • Javon Kinlaw was correctly ruled down after his fumble recovery. His back hit the field before the ball was stripped. Interestingly, Kinlaw, not Jamien Sherwood, got credit for the strip sack despite Sherwood's big hit on Anthony Richardson. Replays shows that Kinlaw poked the ball loose before the hit.
  • Breece Hall just about stayed in bounds and definitely got the ball inside the pylon on his second touchdown.
  • It ultimately didn't matter because of the penalty but it was unclear whether or not the ball hit Gipson's leg on that play, which would have constituted a muff and loss of possession without the penalty.
  • John Simpson was poked in the eye which could have led to an illegal hands to the face penalty.
  • Josh Downs did break the plane before his knee hit on his touchdown catch.
  • Gipson successfully got both feet down inbounds on his sideline 3rd down conversion.
  • The Jets got a break on one of the two-point conversions that failed. Will McDonald very clearly lined up with his hand in the neutral zone.

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