Officials Hose Colts vs. Browns; When Will NFL Enforce Accountability?

The NFL has some explaining to do for how the game ended between the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns.

The Indianapolis Colts dropped a hard-fought battle to the Cleveland Browns 39-38 inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

Now normally, this postgame article would dive into how a certain Colts player or players affected the outcome of the contest.

But we will not be talking about the rollercoaster performance by Gardner Minshew, accounting for four touchdowns and four turnovers.

We will not discuss the performances of wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. (83 yards, touchdown) and Josh Downs (125 yards, touchdown), two offensive weapons who look like mainstays on the Colts offense for years to come.

We will not be talking about the monster game by Kenny Moore II (10 tackles, 1.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, two QB hits), who is back to Pro Bowl form in 2023.

Instead, we will address the incredible botch job by NFL referee Shawn Smith and his officiating crew, who ruined what would have been a great finish to a back-and-forth game. The Colts were robbed of a victory at the hands of an incompetent group of NFL officials. And unfortunately, no one involved is likely to see any repercussions.

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I want to start by saying that, as a journalist covering this Colts team daily, I have no rooting interest in this contest. My analysis is unbiased, and anything less would be disingenuous. But what I saw on Sunday was a slap in the face to all who paid good money to watch a fair football game on a brisk autumn afternoon in Indianapolis.

The Colts were up 38-33 with 47 seconds remaining. The Browns had driven the ball to the Colts' 13-yard line and faced a third-and-four. Browns' quarterback P.J. Walker was sacked by E.J. Speed, who forced a fumble on the play recovered by DeForest Buckner. The game looked all but over.

Suddenly, a late flag was thrown from the secondary. Illegal contact by Darrell Baker Jr. on Amari Cooper, giving the Browns a first down. Looking at the replay, the penalty is questionable at best, especially when you look at the true definition of the foul.

Brutal finish for the Colts against the Browns.

E.J. Speed strip sacks P.J. Walker. DeForest Buckner recovers, apparently clinching the game.

But Darrell Baker is penalized for illegal contact, negating the turnover and giving the Browns a first down. pic.twitter.com/hoYe7b1Tea

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 22, 2023

According to the NFL Rulebook, Rule 8, Section 4, Article 3 clearly states what qualifies as illegal contact:

Beyond the five-yard zone, if the player who receives the snap remains in the pocket with the ball, a defender cannot initiate contact with a receiver who is attempting to evade him. A defender may use his hands or arms only to defend or protect himself against impending contact caused by a receiver.

When looking at the definition of the rule, illegal contact on this play is a major stretch. Cooper is the player to initiate contact and not Baker. Baker is using his hands to defend against the contact caused by Cooper. A terrible missed call that keeps the Browns alive.

We're not done, either. On the next play, Walker throws a pass out of the back of the end zone, clearly an uncatchable ball. Not to these officials, who call defensive pass interference on Baker as he was in coverage on Donovan Peoples-Jones. The ball is then placed at the 1-yard line.

This was ruled pass interference on the Colts eventually leading to a Browns game-winning TD…

Was pass interference the right call? 🤔
pic.twitter.com/9xGnxZRLk5

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) October 22, 2023

Let's go back to the NFL Rulebook. Rule 8, Section 5, Article 1 lays out the definition of pass interference:

It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball. Pass interference can only occur when a forward pass is thrown from behind the line of scrimmage, regardless of whether the pass is legal or illegal, or whether it crosses the line.

When looking at the replay, there is no evidence that Baker hinders Peoples-Jones from catching the football. Peoples-Jones is nowhere close to making a play on the ball because the ball is thrown so far out of the back of the end zone.

Diving in a little further, Rule 8, Section 5, Article 3 details permissible acts by both teams while the ball is in the air. Subsection C dives into what is allowed when the ball is uncatchable:

Contact that would normally be considered pass interference, but the pass is clearly uncatchable by the involved players, except as specified in 8-3-2 and 8-5-4 pertaining to blocking downfield by the offense.

Even if you have a problem with the hand fighting from Baker, the ball is uncatchable, and the penalty of pass interference is egregious. Completely blown calls on back-to-back plays change the entire outcome of the game.

Four plays later, the Browns punch the ball in with Kareem Hunt on fourth-and-goal for the go-ahead touchdown. The Colts get the ball back with 15 seconds remaining, but the damage has been done. The outcome of an intense battle between two talented football teams is tarnished.

And now, we get to the crux of the problem with all of this: The officials who altered the outcome of the game will receive little to no repercussions. This is a crucial problem that needs to be rectified, as there is no accountability for poor performance by referees.

The NFL has claimed that officials are graded on every game. When officials make mistakes in games, the matter is dealt with privately, and they can possibly lose playoff assignments later in the season. That equates to a slap on the wrist.

Sunday's game between the Colts and the Browns was not the only contest this week that saw officials playing a role in the winner. Officiating also had an impact on the outcome of the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams on Sunday as well. The quality of officiating in the NFL today is at an all-time low, with questionable calls happening almost every weekend.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew II (10) walks the sideline Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, during a game against the Cleveland Browns :: © Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

It is long overdue for the discipline of NFL officials to be made public. Players are publicly fined when they do something wrong, so why are officials not held to the same standard? Especially when they have this much power to alter the outcome of the game? Transparency is needed from all sides, not just when it is convenient for the shield.

The longer this goes on, the more the integrity of the game is questioned. There is already a vocal minority pushing the narrative that the NFL is rigged. Why give more credence to these ridiculous claims instead of holding your officials publicly accountable?

In the grand scheme of things, this game between the Colts and Browns will likely not mean much. However, the point remains the same. Bottlejobs like what we saw today will eventually come back to bite the NFL in their biggest game. 

It is only a matter of time before a blatant missed call costs a team a Super Bowl victory. When there is a championship on the line, not to mention millions of dollars, as sports gambling continues to grow in popularity, you can guarantee investigations will be launched if something like this happens during the big game. It could be catastrophic for the NFL.

It is 2023, and we are still talking about holding officials accountable. For a sport with the resources of the NFL, it seems comical that this is a topic for discussion. And yet, here we are.

Two things can be true: The Colts made too many mistakes to get the victory, and the atrocious officiating to end the game absolutely impacted the final score. When will the NFL enforce accountability on their officials?

Until it happens, the product will continue to put the integrity of the game in question, an unacceptable reality for the most popular sport in America.

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