The reason the Chicago Bears lost to the Minnesota Vikings was one-sided, terrible officiating that was responsible for, at minimum, a seventeen-point swing in the game. I will go over the horrible, bad, extremely wrong, no-good calls in detail below. But first, let’s dispense with the preliminaries. Yes, complaining about the refs is a tale as old as time for the losing side. Yes, the Bears were bad on special teams. There were way too many pre-snap penalties on offense. Yes, Caleb was inconsistent
and inaccurate. The defense opened the floodgates in the 4th quarter – failing to get pressure on JJ McCarthy. The offensive line allowed too much pressure up the middle.
Even with all of that, the Bears win the game – comfortably – if the refs had gotten even half of the calls they missed correct. The refs decided that football game. And not on 50/50, we can argue it one way or the other calls – clear, obvious, indisputably wrong calls. When we point at the refs, it feels like making excuses. But sometimes, it is absolutely justified. Let’s go through them, Bears Fans, in no particular order.
Nashon Wright Called for Defensive Pass Interference
Result: A 42-yard DPI penalty. Vikings go on to kick a field goal.
I, for one, have long supported a rule change in the NFL that eliminates the “work back through the defender on an underthrown ball for DPI” play we see so often. It rewards the offense for bad play. But even with the rules as they currently stand, this was not DPI. The receiver does NOT work back through the defender. He loses his feet and slips to the ground, and in a desperate attempt to earn a DPI, he actually grabs Wright to pull him down with him. This was a massive penalty – literally flipping the field for the Vikings. They got their first points of the game with it – a field goal.
Dayo Odeyingbo Called for Roughing the Passer
Result: instead of a sack (likely killing the Vikings drive) it’s a first down for the Vikings.
This is not roughing the passer. Dayo makes contact to the lower neck area – no forceable contact to the helmet. Sweat makes incidental contact to the facemask towards the end of the play – but it is not forceable and is insufficient to justify throwing a flag.
Dayo Odeyingbo Called for Illegal Hands to the Face
Result: instead of a sack ending the drive, it’s a first down for the Vikings in the red zone.
Even Troy Aikman, who mostly made excuses for the refs on Monday night, couldn’t swallow this one. We know this isn’t Illegal Hands to the Face because Dayo never, in fact, touches the offensive lineman’s face. Bull rushes often will force the offensive lineman’s head back – the ref needs to see hands to the face to call it – you don’t infer it.
Tyrique Stephenson Called for Defensive Pass Interference
Result: instead of ending the drive, Vikings get a first down and go on to score a touchdown on the next play.
The defender falls down – trips over his own legs. Stephenson makes contact because the receiver fell down – he makes contact when the receiver is on the ground and no longer running the route. Both Aikman and MNF’s rules expert state they don’t think it is DPI. This is a game-changing call that never should have be called.
Darnell Wright Called for Offensive Holding
Result: instead of a first and ten in the red zone, the Bears are backed up behind the sticks. They eventually settle for a 50-yard field goal attempt – that Cairo Santos misses.
As Geoff Schwarts points out, the snatch/trap is not a hold by any stretch of the imagination. Wright hits down on the defender’s arms, causing the defender to fall to the ground. In the video, you can see that the ref isn’t even looking at Wright – he just sees the defender fall down in his peripheral vision, and assumes a hold happened.
Had these NFL officials gotten even one of these calls right, rather than egregiously wrong, the Bears win the football game. And I’m not even getting into the fumble/not a fumble challenge where Sewell knocked the ball out without touching Hutchinson, as I’ve seen conflicting views on whether or not a player in the NFL – who is not down when the knee is down until they are contacted – is down if the defender hits only the ball and nothing else – causing a fumble. Sometimes, complaining about calls is just coping. We focus on one bad call, when there were bad calls that went in our favor too, which normally even things out. However, the Vikings had eight penalties for only fifty yards, compared to the 12 for 127 for the Bears. And as we have seen, these were not insignificant calls. These were game-changing calls. Score changing calls. The refs are the reason the Bears lost to the Vikings in Week One.
Welp. On to the Lions…
