While there’s no way you can point to bad officiating calls as being the reason why the Pittsburgh Steelers lost 39-30 Sunday to the Seattle Seahawks, you still can’t help but question few of them and wonder how things may have turned out differently had they not happened.
One play from Sunday that really sticks out in my mind included Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons being flagged for unnecessary roughness early in the fourth quarter after pushing Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson out of bounds following a scramble.
When you look at the play in question in real-time, I guess you can perhaps understand why Timmons was flagged. However, when you see the other angles of the play, and what the officials on the field likely saw, it’s pretty obvious that Timmons’s push of Wilson began while the quarterback was still clearly in bounds. Additionally, it’s not like Timmons tried to launch Wilson into the stands.
The 15-yard penalty was pretty big as it negated a first down sack in the process. After receiving a new set of downs, the Seahawks score four plays later.
Had Wilson already given himself up on the play? Perhaps, but we are talking about a quarterback who only trails Cam Newton in rushing yards this season at the position.
Where do you come in on this play? Bang-bang enough to warrant the flag, or should the officials had gotten together to quickly discuss if it needed to be picked up?
