On Further Review, Buffalo Bills Have Legitimate Beef With NFL Officials

Two plays that could have flipped the outcome of Sunday's overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers underscore a huge problem.

At best, the NFL's officiating can be described as wildly inconsistent.

At worst, well, that can't be described here. But most people can figure out what we're implying.

Suffice to say the NFL was at its worst Sunday when the Buffalo Bills were stung by a particularly outrageous pass-interference penalty called on them and another committed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that wasn't called.

Both plays, it can be argued, impacted the final result: A 33-27 win by the host Bucs in overtime. Though it must be noted that the Bucs may well have won anyway and that the Bills placed themselves in such poor position in the first place by playing an awful first half.

But let's take a closer look at the two plays.

The first came with the Bills facing a third-and-2 from the Tampa Bay 7-yard line in the closing seconds of regulation. Stefon Diggs clearly was interfered with by Carlton Davis on a pass attempt that fell incomplete out of bounds.

No call.

This looks like the definition of pass interference. https://t.co/ScwHdOVVpw

— National Football Post (@FootballPost) December 13, 2021

Had it been made, the Bills would have had a first-and-goal at the 1 with 22 seconds remaining and a chance to turn a 27-24 deficit into a 31-27 win that also, worth noting because gambling is legal and encouraged by the NFL now, would have covered the point spread, in which the Bucs were favored by 3½. Even a 27-24 loss would have covered the spread for the Bills.

Instead, the Bills kicked a field goal to force overtime, where the millions of dollars bet on this contest suddenly had a chance to start flowing the other way, which they did, thanks to officials who suddenly stopped using the standard that had been applied moments earlier.

On third down from the Tampa 15, Bucs quarterback Tom Brady underthrew receiver Mike Evans, who was covered tightly by Levi Wallace. Not only did Wallace not interfere, but he was pulled into Evans' body when Evans intiated contact by wrapping his right arm around Wallace's shoulder and yanking as the ball fell incomplete.

So what should have been offensive pass interference and a fourth down in which the Bucs' Bradley Pinion would have been punting from near his goal line, suddenly was a first down.

Three plays later, on another third down, Brady hit Breshad Perriman with a short pass over the middle that Perriman turned into a 58-yard TD reception.

Terry McAuley, the former NFL official who now is the Sunday Night Football rules analyst, insisted that Wallace never should have been flagged.

"This is not defensive pass interference," McAuley wrote on Twitter. "The receiver creates the contact. It is especially noteworthy given what was not called late in regulation on the Buffalo 3rd & 2 play."

(There was a play earlier in which Diggs clearly had his jersey pulled from behind by Davis while the ball was in the air. But replays show that it was Diggs who made first contact on that play, so Bills Central will not argue the no-call there.)

Once again, it wasn't just the Bills and their fans who were possibly cheated, but the thousands who bet the Bills to cover, which would have happened even if the Bucs kicked a field goal to win it in overtime.

Now that the NFL has seemingly climbed into bed with every casino in the free world after dropping a franchise in Las Vegas, the quality of officiating is more crucial to a league that, now more than ever, needs to avoid all hints of impropriety.

But something like this happens in just about every game.

So the entire NFL has a problem, not just Bills fans.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.