After Further Review: Jets-Miami 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

Dolphins 5-47 (leading to one Jets first down)

Jets 6-54 (leading to one Dolphins first down)

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

  • Nathan Shepherd neutral zone infraction. Jumped into the neutral zone and the offense reacted.
  • False start in the red zone on 3rd-and-12. Mike Remmers and Dan Feeney both went early and Remmers was credited with the penalty. The Jets ran for 12 yards on the next play - their only gain of more than five all day on the ground.

Dolphins Penalties

  • Greg Little false start. Dropped into his stance too early.
  • Bradley Chubb offside. Jumped early and was basically already in the backfield as the ball was snapped.
  • Delay of game one play after converting on 4th-and-5.
  • Delay of game on 3rd-and-7.
  • Deep pass interference on Kader Kohou against Garrett Wilson. Clearly pulled him back and there was no way it was uncatchable despite Miami protestations.

Penalties warranting further discussion or explanation

Jets Penalties

  • Sauce Gardner defensive holding. Gardner couldn't resist a grab on Tyreek Hill at the top of his route with the quarterback still in the pocket. He needs to resist the temptation to do this and trust his technique.
  • Cedric Ogbuehi false start. This was a bad call because Miami safety Elijah Campbell reacted to the hard count and was already in the neutral zone before Ogbuehi moved.
  • Remmers offensive holding to negate a first down completion to Wilson. Was ruled to have grabbed the pass rusher after he gained a leverage advantage with an inside move. It didn't look like much from the broadcast footage and probably wasn't necessary.
  • Intentional grounding on Joe Flacco. A costly penalty here as Flacco easily could have rolled out for another step or two to ensure he was outside the pocket before throwing the ball away.
  • Quincy Williams horse collar tackle. This basically won Miami the game and was a wrong call as he tackled the player with a fistful of jersey below the nameplate.

Dolphins Penalties

  • Illegal shift. This wasn't credited to any specific player but Mike Gesicki showed pre-snap confusion and was just getting into his stance as the ball was snapped.

Notable no-calls etc

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

  • Miami got a generous spot as Raheem Mostert appeared to be stopped short on a second down run.
  • It was very close but when Jermaine Johnson chased Skylar Thompson to the sideline on fourth down and he threw incomplete, it looked like Thompson's left foot may have touched the sideline before he got rid of the ball. This would have made it a sack and given the Jets seven more yards of field position.
  • Miami wanted a low hit on Carl Lawson as he brought Thompson down in the pocket but Lawson was already down on the ground and made a legitimate attempt to wrap up his leg rather than forcibly contacting him with a low hit.
  • Wilson was clearly down by contact when Miami challenged looking for a fumble. His knee was down as the ball was knocked out and the defender contacted him as he punched the ball loose. Furthermore, he seemed to make contact with a Miami player on his way down prior to that as well.
  • The crowd wanted a penalty on Kwon Alexander in coverage, but the receiver tripped and was already on his way down before Alexander bumped into him from behind.
  • Wilson did get away with an obvious offensive pass interference penalty on Xavien Howard as he dragged him away before coming back to the ball for a catch.
  • Wilson's third down catch short of the marker was overturned. The ball did hit the ground and appeared to move after that so this seems like a correct call.
  • Jeff Wilson had a first down run on the outside where Williams and Nathan Shepherd were both blatantly held.
  • Bryce Hall likely got away with a defensive hold down the field on Hill, as noted by the announcers.
  • The final play was originally ruled a touchback but then changed to a safety. If the Miami player possessed the ball or gave it impetus before it bounced into the end zone then the touchback would have been the correct call. The officials presumably saw the Miami player's attempt to recover the ball as a loose ball that just deflected randomly into the end zone with no control. At that stage, who cares? (Oh right, gamblers...)

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