The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars for a crucial matchup on Sunday, but it felt like they were playing against the officiating crew at times as well. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson sounded off on the refs after the game, saying “They cost us the game. The refs were killing us.”
93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi of the Audacy original podcast “1st & Pod” agreed with Johnson’s sentiment and explained why the Steelers were so angry with the officiating on Sunday.
“He was right in that we saw egregious miscalls at the end of the first half of this game in a very close, ugly football game that really dramatically increased the likelihood that Jacksonville was going to win,” Fillipponi said (25:20 in player above). “If people missed it, you had an obvious roughing the passer penalty that got missed – especially given the standard that was set earlier in the game when the Steelers got called for a hit on Trevor Lawrence – that ended up with Pickett leaving the game with a rib injury and not coming back in the second half.
“And then they kicked a 55-yard field goal that was called back because the ref said a guard lined up offside. And then they pulled up pictures of it after the game and there was no proof. Mike Tomlin flipped out on a female official on the sideline and said ‘What the eff are you all doing today?” It got that heated.”
The Steelers had some momentum with wins over the Ravens and Rams heading into this home matchup against the Jaguars. That came to a screeching halt on Sunday by not only losing the game but Pickett as well.
“Look, it sucks any time you have a team with a very small margin for error because of how limited they are offensively and you’re playing against a team that’s better than you and you feel like you’re not only playing that team but you’re also playing the refs,” Fillipponi continued. “What makes it worse is it’s at home, too, where you anticipate you’re going to get 50-50 calls and you’re going to get the benefit of the doubt. So that’s what I think threw these guys off.
“I give Johnson credit because he knows he’s going to get fined, probably at least $50,000 for it, but it was bad.”
A victory would’ve moved Pittsburgh firmly into a playoff spot at 5-2 on the season. Instead, they’re 4-3 along with the Browns and Bengals in the AFC North.
“That’s where the Steelers are at right now. They know they’re in an absolute dogfight to compete in this division to make the playoffs,” Fillipponi said. “They know that even riding a two-game winning streak their offense is so remedial that a three-point swing like that in this game, given what their defense is capable of doing, can be the difference between a win or a loss.
“It’s possible that they look back on this game and that’s the difference between them making the playoffs and missing it. So that’s why they were so pissed, and they had a right to be.”
The Steelers will look to channel their energy on a short week as they get set to host the Titans on Thursday Night Football.
