It's that time of year again.
No, not the holidays -- the time for NFL referees to make questionable calls in big spots.
This time, officials came under scrutiny for a dubious roughing-the-passer penalty against the Buffalo Bills during Saturday's game against the Broncos in Denver.
The play in question came late in the second quarter with the Bills enjoying a 21-7 lead and trying to halt a potential Denver scoring march in the final minutes before halftime. The Bills appeared to have stalled the drive around midfield, setting up a potential punting situation for the Broncos.
Instead a late flag came down in the offensive backfield, when Buffalo linebacker Matt Milano was called for roughing on what looked to be incidental contact around the knees of Broncos quarterback Drew Lock.
The officials spent several moments in a momentum-killing huddle, apparently trying to decide whether a penalty was warranted.
The Bills and Milano were perplexed by the call, and went on to surrender a touchdown when the drive resumed.
NFL Network announcer Adam Amin said it was a penalty by the letter of the rule, while analyst Mark Schlereth said there was nothing Milano could have done differently because he had been cut-block by a Broncos player.
The NFL rule book defines roughing the passer below the knees as such:
A rushing defender is prohibited from forcibly hitting in the knee area or below a passer who has one or both feet on the ground, even if the initial contact is above the knee. It is not a foul if the defender is blocked (or fouled) into the passer and has no opportunity to avoid him.
Notes
A defender cannot initiate a roll or lunge and forcibly hit the passer in the knee area or below, even if he is being contacted by another player.
It seems, then, Milano was flagged for "lunging" at Lock and wrapping him up below the knees.
Social media, led mostly by "Bills Mafia", was not convinced.
The Bills ended up going on to beat the Broncos, 48-19, to clinch the team's first AFC East title in 25 years.
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM Sports
Twitter | Facebook I Instagram