Though Justin Fields spoke glowingly of Acrisure Stadium and the environment it creates, calling it one of his favorite places to play in the NFL, but his memory from playing there isn’t a fond one.
In fact, during an appearance on the St. Brown podcast with NFL wide receivers Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown of the 33rd Team platform, after listing Acrisure Stadium, Ford Field (Lions) and U.S. Bank Stadium (Vikings) as his favorite places to play, Fields stated Wednesday afternoon that the refs cheated the Chicago Bears out of the 2021 Monday Night Football matchup at then-Heinz Field due to the Cassius Marsh penalty.
“I’m not gonna get fined, I shouldn’t get fined here, right? Alright, I gotta say it. The refs, they cheated. They cheated us outta that game. I’m not gonna lie,” Fields told the St. Brown brothers, according to video via the 33rd Team’s YouTube page. “…There’s a flag where if you go back and look it up, bro, there’s a flag at the end of the game. We just get a big play. It’s fourth down, we got a linebacker run off the field. The ref looks back bumps into him. I seen that flag, bro. I’m like, come on.
“I was sick. But yeah, their stadium was lit. It was cool.”
That night, Fields had one of the better games of his NFL career as a passer. He completed 17-of-29 passes for 291 yards, one touchdown and one interception and added 45 rushing yards on eight carries. The former Ohio State star even led the Bears to a late 27-26 lead with just over two minutes to go in the game, hitting wide receiver Darnell Mooney for a 16-yard touchdown.
It wasn’t enough though as Chris Boswell drilled a 40-yard field goal with 26 seconds left to lift the Steelers to a 29-27 win.
Though the Bears took a late lead, the penalty called on Marsh by former NFL referee Tony Corrente still eats at Fields.
On a 3rd and 8 from the Chicago 47-yard line in a 23-20 game, Marsh sacked then-Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, forcing a punt after a seven-yard loss. But then, Marsh was called for a taunting penalty after glaring at the Steelers’ sideline — a team he had spent that summer with in training camp — and then making contact with Corrente while coming off the field.
The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty extended the Steelers’ drive and led to a Boswell field goal and a 26-20 Steelers lead in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Corrente stated that the flag was for Marsh taunting the Steelers’ sideline after the sack. Following his pivotal sack, he took several steps toward the Steelers’ sideline. At the time, his body language showed that he was trying to convey a message to the Steelers before turning and running back to the Bears’ sideline.
Even Marsh doesn’t know what the heck happened two years later, recently stating on Radio Row before Super Bowl LVIII that “refs do what refs do.”
It was a tough call that went against the Bears in the moment. That said, they were able to battle back and take a late lead. The call didn’t lose them the game like Fields stated, but it sure didn’t help them hold off the Steelers.
