Refs screw Steelers with outlandish leveraging call that cost Pittsburgh points

The officiating has gone from bad to worse on Sunday Night Football. After Steelers defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi was tagged with a bogus personal foul call that eventually resulted in seven points for the Jets, a more egregious call was made in the second quarter.

Shortly after the Jets marched down the field for their second touchdown of the night, Pittsburgh found a spark ... or so they thought.

On the point-after attempt, All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick timed the snap perfectly, jumped over the offensive line, and blocked the extra point. This would have kept Pittsburgh within a touchdown. However, the refs called Fitzpatrick for leveraging.

On replay, this proved to be an outrageously bad call. While Fitzpatrick's hand did touch a player as he jumped over the line, he did not use his hands to leverage over the line. Announcers Mike Tirico and Chris Collinsworth agreed this was the wrong decision.

What's most unfortunate is that, after the penalty, the Jets decided to go for two and were successful. This ultimately turned a 13-7 game into a 15-7 game -- putting New York up by two scores late in the first half.

Steelers can't buy a break on Sunday Night Football

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been robbed by bogus penalties against the Jets on Sunday Night Football. So far, this team hasn't found any luck under the primetime lights.

Not only is Mike Tomlin's team fighting an early deficit, but they are also going against the officials in this contest. When Minkah's blocked extra point was called off because of a penalty, special teams coach Danny Smith was fuming on the sidelines. His oversized wad of gum nearly flew out of his mouth as he jawed with the official.

This is not going well, and the Steelers are going to need more favorable calls if they don't want the Jets to start running away with this contest.