Overview
- John Harbaugh said the NFL told him the unnecessary roughness penalty on Travis Jones was a wrong call, a decision that erased a Steelers field goal and preceded a touchdown for a four-point swing.
- Referee Alex Moore had defended the flag by citing the long snapper’s defenseless status, though the rule targets head or neck contact, helmet blows, or illegal launches rather than shoulder-to-shoulder contact.
- Isaiah Likely’s late touchdown was overturned on replay, with NFL replay executive Mark Butterworth citing the need for a third step as an act common to the game, prompting Harbaugh to call the catch rule “as clear as mud.”
- Harbaugh, GM Eric DeCosta, and team-hired ex-ref Tony Michalek spoke with league officiating leaders Perry Fewell and Walt Anderson but left unsatisfied and will also write the league about a holding call on the Steelers’ final punt that hurt field position.
- The Steelers won 27-22, leaving Baltimore at 6-7 one game back in the division, and the NFL separately suspended Ravens lineman Ben Cleveland three games under the Substances of Abuse Policy.