7 major questions emerging from Packers loss to Steelers
4. How did the officials get it so wrong?
The NFL officials couldn't have made more of a mess of the Kenny Pickett backward pass. Pickett threw a pass intended for running back Jaylen Warren. Warren dropped it, and the Packers smartly realized it may have gone backward, making it a fumble and live ball. Carrington Valentine was the first there, followed by Rashan Gary, who picked it up and took it to the end zone.
There were multiple errors by the officials. The first was to blow the play dead while Gary scooped up the ball. Why blow the whistle? Let it play out, and then determine if the pass was incomplete or a lateral. Due to the whistle, even had the decision been ruled a fumble, the Packers' touchdown wouldn't have counted.
Green Bay challenged the ruling on the field, sending it to the video technology. Despite the replays clearly showing the ball going backward, they upheld the decision of an incomplete pass.
This wasn't a judgment call, like whether a receiver completes the catch or whether a holding or pass interference penalty should be called. This decision was easy to prove using the multiple camera angles. And it's a yes or no. Did the pass go forward? If yes, it's an incomplete pass. If not, it's a fumble.
How they got it wrong is hard to understand.