Former NFL referee Gene Steratore says the officiating crew that worked the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Atlanta Falcons game on Sunday missed multiple calls. Steratore, now a rules analyst for CBS, cited George Pickens’ offensive pass interference call and T.J. Watt’s offsides penalty as missed calls.
On Pickens’ call, Pickens is downfield stride for stride with Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell, and touches him just before the ball arrives. The officials called it a push off and wiped an explosive play off the board for the Steelers. Steratore says it was a missed call.
“I think it’s a missed call,” Steratore said. “I think those are ‘play-ons.’ Great football play. Great catch... As you get close to something like that, you are seeing a little more in detail and you may react. You may think it is a little more egregious than you would if you were 7 or 8 yards away from that play.”
As for the penalty on Watt, he timed the snap up perfectly for a strip sack of Kirk Cousins. The official later admitted that he was wrong for calling offsides when Watt jumped right as the ball was being snapped.
“Those are hard to look at because where do they end? Where does that stop? Let’s go back and see if the left tackle wasn’t really on the line of scrimmage,” Steratore said.
So, even though the Steelers won, they could have won even more if the plays that Steratore says were not penalties stood as called. It would have given the Steelers another explosive play offensively and another turnover on the defensive side of the ball, wiping out a would-be Falcons touchdown right before the half.
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