It's been a rough year for the Baltimore Ravens. Three weeks ago, in a Monday night matchup against the Cardinals, they got so screwed over by bad officiating they felt compelled to write a blog post complaining about it, which is something only truly desperate people do. Five days later the league finally admitted that the referees messed up in calling an illegal formation penalty on offensive lineman John Urschel for failing to report as an eligible receiver, even though he clearly did. While that error cost the Ravens a potential touchdown, yesterday's officiating cost them a win. The league's at least gotten quicker about admitting mistakes.Today, the NFL said that the madcap finish to the Ravens loss to the Jaguars on a field goal at the end of the game should not have happened. The Jaguars were scrambling with about six seconds left in the game to get set at the line for one final play and appeared to get the snap off just before the clock turned to zero. Earlier today, NFL spokesman Michael Signora said that the play should have been whistled dead for a false start and after a ten-second runoff, the game should have ended in a 20-19 Ravens win.
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The refs didn't catch it, of course, and play continued. Elvis Dumervil—who was one of the only guys on the field still playing at this point—tracked down Blake Bortles and sacked him. He also pulled him down by the facemask, though, so the Jaguars were given one final, untimed down. Jason Myers came out and hit a 53-yard field goal and the Jags stole one, with a huge assist from the officials.[Baltimore Sun]Per league rules, all offensive players are required to come to a complete stop and be in a set position simultaneously for at least one second prior to the snap. The league reviewed the tape and did not feel that occurred.