Jay Gruden Calls for Official to Be Suspended Over Terry McLaurin Penalty

The former Washington coach didn’t hold back his thoughts on the controversial penalty.

The Commanders–Giants game on Sunday night created an uproar regarding some controversial officiating, and there was one pivotal penalty towards the end of the game that had fans and those around the league very confused.

A questionable illegal formation penalty called on receiver Terry McLaurin even caused former Washington coach Jay Gruden to speak his mind about what happened.

“I don’t know what I would have done,” Gruden said, via 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen. “I might have run across the field and tackled that referee. I don’t understand how you can make that call. It’s the worst call I’ve ever seen. To make that call in that part of the game, that referee should be suspended in my opinion. That’s a horrible call.”

On third-and-goal during the Commanders’ last drive of the game, McLaurin was called for an illegal formation penalty, which subsequently negated a one-yard touchdown run by running back Brian Robinson on the play. Washington ended up losing 20–12.

Controversy regarding the penalty came from replays, which showed McLaurin communicating with an official. The receiver said after the game that the official told him his positioning was O.K.

“Especially a guy like Terry, he’s been lined up over there all game,” Gruden continued. “He lined up in that same formation probably 25 times throughout the course of the game. He’s standing right in front of him, he pointed at the ground twice. I mean, come on. You don’t throw a flag in that situation, ever.”

Terry McLaurin looks at the ref asking if he’s good - ref points back at McLaurin as of to indicate he’s good. McLaurin then gives a thumbs up to ref to acknowledge it. This “penalty” took a Brian Robinson TD off the board. Via @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/B86N6nsJsS

— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) December 19, 2022

The Commanders had another chance to score a touchdown on their final drive when quarterback Taylor Heinicke threw a pass to receiver Curtis Samuel in the end zone. However, Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes broke up the play and wasn’t called for a penalty, even though some thought he committed pass interference on the play.

With the loss, the Commanders moved to 7-6-1 on the season, but still remain in the playoff picture as the seventh NFC seed.