Just when it looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to take advantage of Philadelphia Eagles’ CB Cooper DeJean fumbling the ball on a punt return thanks to a hit from LB Mark Robinson that gave the Steelers great field position deep in Eagles’ territory, a bizarre call from the officials on the first play of the drive all but wiped out that opportunity.
On a 1st and 10 from the Eagles’ 11-yard line, quarterback Russell Wilson completed a pass to running back Najee Harris for seven yards. On the play, Steelers’ TE Darnell Washington landed a great block on Eagles’ CB Darius Slay, driving the veteran cornerback out of the back of the end zone, throwing him out of the club.
In the process, Slay got angry and threw what appears to be multiple punches at Washington, which set off a scuffle in the back of the end zone.
Video from the stands right in front of the play captured what appears to be Slay and Eagles’ CB Quinyon Mitchell throwing punches at Steelers. The Eagles weren’t flagged on the play.
On the play, Washington was called for unnecessary roughness for blocking Slay through the whistle and pushing him out of the back of the end zone, while Steelers’ wide receiver Calvin Austin III was flagged for unnecessary roughness as well, racing in to defend Washington and mixing it up with Mitchell.
What should have been — at worst — a 2nd and 3 from the 4-yard line for the Steelers, turned into a 2nd and 18 from the Eagles’ 19-yard line. After the Steelers were called for the two flags and the Eagles didn’t receive anything, cameras captured Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin being disgusted with the explanation that he got from the official, which he later stated after the game was “not sufficient.”
After the penalty on the Steelers, Pittsburgh proceeded to throw two incompletions and settle for a 37-yard field goal from Chris Boswell, making it a 3-3 game. They missed out on an opportunity that could have led to a much-needed touchdown early in the game, taking advantage of the fumble from DeJean.
