Pittsburgh Steelers K Chris Boswell had three points taken off the board when his 56-yard field goal was overturned due to a phantom offsides penalty against OG Isaac Seumalo. That turned the kick into a 61-yard try, and Boswell was no good at the end of the half in rainy conditions. Boswell posted two screenshots of the play on his Instagram story after the game, which included pictures of the play with crying laughing emojis.
As a result of the missed kick, Pittsburgh went into the half trailing 9-3 instead of 9-6. It would’ve been a nice momentum boost for a Steelers offense that needed one going into halftime, especially with QB Kenny Pickett leaving the game with an injury a few plays earlier. Instead, Seumalo was flagged for offsides, on a rule that should be reserved for push plays. If anything, it looks like Jacksonville S Antonio Johnson is offsides on the play.
Head official Aaron Eck doubled down after the game, saying it was “obvious” that Seumalo was offsides. It was one of the plays that caused WR Diontae Johnson to rant about the officiating after the game, and Seumalo chimed in postgame and said he didn’t feel like he was offsides.
It was, at best, a ticky-tack call that helped Jacksonville hold onto a six-point lead, and despite Pittsburgh forcing a fumble on the Jaguars’ first possession of the second half, the Mitch Trubisky-led offense couldn’t take advantage. If the offsides penalty wasn’t called, it would’ve given the Steelers the chance to take the lead on the possession where Trubisky threw an interception, and the Steelers would’ve had a chance to tie the game at the end instead of being down 10.
Given how bad Pittsburgh’s offense was, it’s hard to say that it would’ve significantly impacted the game had the penalty not been called. But you never know, and it’s clear that Pittsburgh’s players are upset about it. For Boswell, making the first kick was hard enough in the rain, but then moving back to 60-plus yards was never going to be an easy kick, regardless of the weather.
