Packers fans are furious as refs screw Green Bay out of defensive touchdown

Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers / Justin K. Aller/GettyImages
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The Green Bay Packers should have led the Pittsburgh Steelers at halftime, but the refs wouldn't allow it.

Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett threw a pass for running back Jaylen Warren, falling incomplete. The problem? It wasn't a pass. The ball went backward, meaning it was a lateral and fumble.

The Packers were well aware. Rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine immediately dived for the football before Rashan Gary scooped it up and took it into the end zone.

For some reason, the refs had already blown the play dead rather than letting the Packers score first before making the call. That alone wiped out any opportunity for the touchdown, but Green Bay could still review the "pass," which Matt LaFleur did. The video clearly showed the ball moving backward, but the officials stuck with the original decision.

It made no sense. At the very least, the Packers were screwed out of a turnover in Steelers territory. And had the officials let the game go on, it would've been a Rashan Gary defensive touchdown.

You can see it for yourself here.

Understandably, Packers fans were furious, and who could blame them?

Packers screwed out of touchdown against Steelers: Fans and analysts react

The NFL still doesn't know what a catch is. It also seems they don't know what a fumble or lateral is. It appears that everyone watching the game except the officials could see what happened on the play.

Yep. The Packers were screwed.

Some penalties are subjective. Does a receiver have complete control of a catch? Was there a knee down before a fumble? Those kind of calls can sometimes go either way depending on how the officials see it. But this one was obvious. The ball ended up behind the spot where Pickett threw it. How was it anything other than a fumble?

It cost the Packers a touchdown. It could make the difference in the game.

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