Rash of Steelers injuries shows need for NFL refereeing changes

Poor refereeing

Do not take this as a case of sour grapes. As a Steelers fan, sure, it is something to get worked up over any time the refs do not throw a flag on a blatant penalty. Had they, the Steelers would have gotten 15 yards and an automatic first down. That said, the Steelers still would not have had the services of Boswell and would have had to go for the two-point conversion.

Certainly, a touchdown may have put the game out of reach for the Browns. However, there is a larger issue, and it’s not about whether the Steelers could have benefited from a penalty.

The issue at hand is the fact the referees should not miss calls like that. The reason the NFL put the rules into place was to help mitigate its violent nature to help aid the safety of the players.  To do that, they need not miss such calls.

Only one or two weeks ago, Gil Brandt brought up the issue on NFL Radio on SiriusXM satellite radio. He brought up similar situations from other NFL games. The referees missed similar calls ranging from missing players leading with the helmet to obvious false start penalties they missed. He went on to quip that there was no excuse for referees missing blatant calls. Gil brought this point up before the injury to the Steelers game with the Browns.

As professionals, they should not miss them, and the NFL needs to solve the problem.