The sixth-seeded Steelers upset the Colts, who finished the season as the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
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Morelli’s crew botched multiple things on Sunday, including taking a down away from the Cardinals on a 49ers penalty, a move that led Arizona coach Bruce Arians to quip, “The officials were struggling”.
Despite the fact that the Steelers won the game, someone was sufficiently upset with the outcome to throw a rock through a window in Morelli’s California home.
Earlier this season, side judge Rob Vernatchi from Morelli’s crew was suspended for one game for not properly keeping track of the game clock in a Pittsburgh-San Diego game. (The referee, umpire, head linesman, and line judge all have the duty to count offensive players.) Morelli enforced this as a dead-ball foul, but in reality, this is retroactive to the snap, because the crew can clearly establish the personnel that were on the field at the snap.
The NFL once again has yanked officials from a key game after mistakes they made the week before. Arizona failed to gain another yard after the incorrect call and settled for a field goal. The 49ers were flagged 13 times for 81 yards, including a questionable roughing the passer call against 49ers defensive end Quinton Dial with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter. “That’s not what we accepted”, Arians said, “and that was the whole problem”.
Only after discussing the play with officials in NY did Morelli get the call right. “They can try to explain it. They’re wrong”. 49ers guard Alex Boone said “those refs sucked”.
But the latest outcry came just two weeks after the National Football League acknowledged Morelli’s crew made mistakes in their handling of the closing seconds of the Ravens-Jaguars game that ultimately affected the final result.
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So if you were thinking the Patriots might catch a break this week after last week’s poorly officiated game, that won’t be the case.
