The Carolina Panthers lost a tough game to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, and head coach Ron Rivera can’t help but wonder if the officiating had something to do with that.
In his final press conference of the season on Monday, Rivera spoke about a critical call and a questionable decision to not review a play that could have helped Carolina. The first issue arose when the Panthers intercepted a Drew Brees pass on 4th-and-2 late in the fourth quarter. It was questionable if defensive back Mike Adams actually had possession of the ball, and a drop would have resulted in a turnover on downs and given the Panthers better field position.
The play occurred in the final two minutes of the game, but officials chose not to review it. Rivera said he was not given an explanation as to why.
“I asked the side judge and said, ‘You’re going to need to take a look at that, he dropped the ball.’ He just said, ‘We’ll see,'” Rivera recalled. “He said something into the mic. I have no idea what he said, but I did bring it up and got no explanation. Again, situation and circumstances played out and we had our opportunity.”
Here’s a video of the play:
Best look at the Mike Adams “interception”. If this were a receiver, it’s incomplete 10/10 times. pic.twitter.com/t8KZWDTYWg
— Zach Helms (@KeepPounding95) January 8, 2018
As the Pittsburgh Steelers learned a few weeks ago in their heartbreaking loss to the New England Patriots, it sure didn’t look like Adams completed the process of the catch. At the very least, the play should have been looked at.
Rivera also would have liked a better explanation for why Cam Newton was flagged for intentional grounding on Carolina’s final offensive drive.
“I thought he got outside the right tackle’s frame and the guy was hitting him while he was trying ot throw the ball,” Rivera said.
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen told reporters after the game that he overheard head referee Tony Corrente being told by other officials that Newton was outside the pocket, but the flag wasn’t picked up. You can see that play below:
Here's the intentional grounding play that was called on Cam Newton, was he outside the pocket? pic.twitter.com/ChNSwvS5DK
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 8, 2018
There are always going to be complaints about the officiating in big games, but we have already seen some serious controversies with the playoffs just underway. While Adams should have known to knock the ball down in that situation rather than go for the interception, you can understand why Rivera wasn’t satisfied with the way things unfolded.
