The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 6-3 after a Week 10 victory over the Green Bay Packers. The victory is already being scrutinized by many due to some questionable calls that went in the Steelers' favor. NFL officiating as a whole has been extremely questionable this season, which Pittsburgh fans saw most notably in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars (and for portions of the Week 9 game against the Tennessee Titans). Many NFL fans have spoken about a certain missed call from the Steelers win, including one former Packers quarterback.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers running back Jaylen Warren tried to break a tackle against Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie during Pittsburgh's 23-19 win in Week 10 of 2023.
Steelers Ruled A Beneficiary Of Inept Officials According To Former Packers QB
The biggest questionable call made in the game between the Steelers and Packers was on a swing pass from second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett to running back Jaylen Warren. The Steelers had the ball on roughly their own 12-yard line, and Pickett quickly passed the ball to Warren. The throw was behind Warren and the ball hit the ground. The officials blew the play dead and ruled it an incomplete pass. However, it appeared the ball was thrown backwards, meaning the play should have resulted in a fumble that the Packers would have recovered.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Kenny Pickett attempts a pass in the Week 10 victory over the Packers.
The game continued as normal. Many Packers fans were complaining about the call, and were mad at their Head Coach Matt LaFleur for not throwing his challenge flag on the play. Former Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert spoke up from his X account to talk about how bad of a throw it was by Pickett and how badly the officials missed the call.
"Kenny Pickett, that's a fumble. Slipped out of his little hands and went backwards. The NFL needs to investigate this. That's a fumble and everyone knows it."
Abigail Dean / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers second-year quarterback, Kenny Pickett (8) scrambles against the Green Bay Packers in Week 10 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
Benkert continued to complain on X even after the game was over. Tweeting out screenshots of the play with drawings to illustrate the backwards pass as well as tweeting out the clip. The former Packers quarterback was obviously extremely upset the team that released him wasn't able to win, however the missed call wasn't the reason the Packers lost. It was the two interceptions thrown by Jordan Love in the last four minutes of the game. Benkert continued his rant on X by proclaiming the course of the game was changed by the missed call.
"Tell me how the zebras get this wrong?! This was a defensive touchdown taken off the board and changed the outcome of the game."
The call may have been missed, but there are missed calls in every football game. Back during the 2021 NFL season the Packers benefitted from a pretty big blown call. Former Steelers cornerback Joe Haden blocked a field goal against the Packers, and it was returned 75 yards for a Steelers touchdown. However, the officials threw a flag and said that Haden was offsides on the play. The Packers then made the field goal and won the game by ten points.
Benny Sieu / USA Today Sports
Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback, Joe Haden was confirmed not to be offsides on a blocked field goal by rules analysts back in 2021.
The blocked field goal and touchdown for the Steelers being wiped off the board was a pretty big 10-point swing for the Packers. Some might say it even won them the game. After the game was over, CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore confirmed via his X account that Haden was in fact not offsides on the play. Therefore making it a pretty big blown call, and it shows how rocky the officiating has been in these matchups between two of the most historic teams in the NFL.
What do you think of Benkert's remarks? Let us know in the comments below!
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