The Cincinnati Bengals’ comeback effort against the Kansas City Chiefs was upended Sunday by what appears to be another bad call from an officiating crew.
With 6:18 to go and the Bengals trailing 22-17, Bengals quarterback Jake Browning was called for intentional grounding on the first play of the drive. The call came even though running back Joe Mixon certainly appeared to be the intended target of the pass.
Intentional grounding completely stops that drive. HORRIBLE CALL. There is zero part of this that is. He was trying to throw to receiver. Mixon is right where ball lands. And he gets hit while throwing. They NEVER call that when getting hit. @bengals getting robbed by officials.… pic.twitter.com/DP5KWH4FF2
— Kevin Kelley (@coachkelley1) January 1, 2024
NO WAY!?! Refs call intentional grounding on the Bengals here… #CINvsKC pic.twitter.com/FAOmZ9WR1Y
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) January 1, 2024
Browning was hit as he threw, which may have impacted how the ball came out, but he appeared to be preparing to throw before initial contact from the defender. Under those circumstances, grounding should not be called. The quarterback was in the tackle box and the ball went past the line of scrimmage, so the only way it could have been intentional grounding was if there was no receiver in the area, and Mixon appeared to be.
At the very least, the play was far less blatant than some other instances of intentional grounding that somehow went uncalled.
The call set the Bengals back ten yards and made it 2nd and 20, and they would be forced to punt two plays later. The Chiefs wound up winning 25-17.
The Bengals may well have lost anyway, as they struggled to move the ball in the second half. Still, the flag caps off a rough weekend for NFL officials, though at least it was nowhere near as impactful as what happened between the Lions and Cowboys on Saturday.
