The Bears will soon be more knowledgeable about the rules than most NFL officials if things continue this way.
Some might argue that they already do.
In Sunday’s 31-30 loss to the Detroit Lions, a game in which there was a 9-2 differential in penalty flags against the Bears, numerous officials calls riled up fans on social media for the second straight game.
Coach Matt Eberflus submitted video of pass interference calls—or what appeared to be pass interference—a week earlier, and the league later apologized for a few errors made by the officials that decided the Miami game.
“It’s really with any call, if you turn in a call that you think that you may disagree with—or you do disagree with—it’s really about education,” Eberflus said before the Lions game. “It’s really about educating us for the rules and turning that and educating the players, saying ‘we did play that the right way’ or ‘You can do something better going forward.’
“Those plays are over. They made those calls. Once they made them there’s nothing you can do about it. You can complain and whine about it, but that doesn’t do any good. We want to learn from the situation.”
On Sunday, there was a lot to learn.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Justin Fields’ throw to Cole Kmet was clearly pass interference on Alex Anzalone, but the referee’s crew missed it. At that point, the Bears were up 24-10, and if Fields didn’t throw another pick-6, a score drive would have put the game away. In addition to making unnecessary contact with the defender who had his back to the ball, Kmet’s left arm was initially pinned down as the ball rose, forcing him to push through and attempt to catch it. It was quite comparable to what occurred when Chase Claypool faced Miami.
Early in the game, when Jared Goff swung the ball out to his left and two receivers were blocking well in advance of the pass, an evident offensive pass interference penalty was missed.
On a David Montgomery run, Braxton Jones was called for a phantom holding, giving the Bears first-and-goal at the 4, but they ultimately settled for a field goal. The game is won by the point differential there, which also eliminates Cairo Santos’ dubious 22-yard attempt.
Right before Fields threw the pick-6 to Jeff Okudah, another highly questionable hold on Ryan Griffin placed the Bears in a deep down-and-distance situation.
When Kyler Gordon reached out and hit the ball, knocking it out of Jared Goff’s fingers as he raced out of bounds in the fourth quarter, he was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Despite what the officials claimed, he hit Goff before the ball was out. Gordon had hit the ball, but Goff flopped and was given the call. The replay confirmed this. With a pleasant smile on his face, Goff stood up. A drive started by that play brought the Lions to within 24-17 points.
The worst call came after Jack Sanborn intercepted Jared Goff’s throw to end a Lions drive in the fourth quarter, when Jaylon Johnson was penalized for illegal hands to the face.
If Johnson’s face had been in his chest, that might have been the right decision. Because that was such a classic flop, Lions receiver Trinity Benson ought to try to play in the Premier League.
Safety Eddie Jackson claimed that even though he hadn’t seen the penalty, he didn’t need to.
