A controversial taunting penalty on Chicago Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh late in the fourth quarter shifted momentum in the team's 29-27 road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.
And Hall of Fame linebacker and franchise legend Dick Butkus is still trying to process why NFL official Tony Corrente elected to throw his flag and penalize Marsh for celebrating a clutch sack of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
"I really don't know what they're doing. It's awful," Butkus told The DA Show on Wednesday. "I understand with this taunting business, when someone says something after hitting somebody, that's taunting. But if you intercept somebody, the whole team runs down to the other end zone to do their gyrations in front of the camera. What's that all about?... It was a wrong call on [Marsh]... That was a lousy call, no getting around it.
"I thought maybe it was because he bumped [Corrente], but no, everybody's telling me he was reaching for the flag before that. Oh, c'mon. The guy didn't even say anything. He's in the middle of the field and he's looking over there. The poor kid just got up from the practice squad and he's able to play, and he makes a key hit. Oh, god, c'mon... I don't know how you can play this game without getting your lather up. I really don't..."
The incident occurred after Marsh sacked Roethlisberger on a third-and-long, with the Steelers leading 23-20 at the 3:49 mark. Marsh did a spinning jump-kick in celebration, took steps toward Pittsburgh's sideline, and then jogged over to Chicago's side of the field. Video replay shows Corrente reaching for his flag and initiating contact with Marsh before making the call. As a result, Pittsburgh's drive continued, and they ultimately drilled a field goal, extending their lead to 26-20.
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Corrente addressed the questionable foul to a pool reporter, explaining that taunting is "a point of emphasis this year" and he believed Marsh's posture and action toward Pittsburgh's sideline warranted the flag. Corrente also said that his brief contact with Marsh had nothing to do with the taunting penalty. Marsh disagreed, as he accused Corrente of "hip-checking" him on the field.
If the taunting penalty hadn't been called, Pittsburgh would've been forced to punt near midfield, and give Chicago a chance to drive downfield for either a game-tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown. Interestingly enough, Chicago orchestrated its own 75-yard touchdown drive minutes after the penalty and Steelers field goal, and briefly took a 27-26 lead.
The entire football conversation between Butkus and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The DA Show on Twitter @DAonCBS and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.
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