The officials in Sunday’s game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens cost the Browns a touchdown in brutal fashion.
The Browns appeared to have found wide receiver Amari Cooper for a huge gain late in the first half against Baltimore. Cooper made a nice catch, then turned upfield and only had one man to beat for what would have been a 65-yard touchdown.
There was just one problem: Cooper was ruled out of bounds just after making the grab.
Browns fans should be livid!
Deshaun Watson throws an absolutely beautiful ball to Amari Cooper which may have scored, but the refs blow an inadvertent whistle, thinking Cooper stepped out of bounds. Play dead. pic.twitter.com/prN36DSiZk
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) September 24, 2023
Replays showed that Cooper was not even close to stepping out of bounds. One of the officials was even staring right at Cooper’s feet at the time.
This play ended in Browns WR Amari Cooper getting to the end zone for a touchdown… except the referee said Cooper stepped out of bounds.
😬😬😬 pic.twitter.com/7KjlFIPcl0
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) September 24, 2023
The play was not reviewable because the inadvertent whistle blew the play dead. That is one of the reasons the NFL prefers referees to let plays go and review them afterward, but that did not happen here.
The Browns may have received the benefit of the doubt from officials last week, but this was simply egregious. Officials should not be getting that one wrong.
