The referees blew the Bengals’ opening pick-six against Russell Wilson on Sunday, according to former NFL referee Gene Steratore. George Pickens, a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, ran a slant route on the game’s first drive and appeared to have slipped a little bit coming off his break. The Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt then snatched the throw back for a touchdown after yanking him down by the back of his helmet.
According to head referee Shawn Hochuli, they thought the helmet grab was incidental contact since Pickens staggered out of his break.
“We determined that the receiver fell off the line on that play, and he was knocked down by incidental contact. Hochuli stated, “If there was a possible grab or hold that was at an angle we couldn’t have seen.”
Steratore, meanwhile, feels that since Pickens was harmed by the helmet grab, using hands-on Britt ought to have been prohibited.
-@GeneSteratore on the Pickens route that resulted in the Bengals pick sixpic.twitter.com/R0JwppXyjH “I think it’s illegal use of hands on the defense”
Illegal involvement in these instances involving receivers, especially in cases where there is no severity level, according to Steratore. Although there isn’t much contact, you can Taylor-Britt go to Pickens’ head there. However, they do support the unlawful use of the hands when contact like that happens up into the helmet.
Russell Wilson and Pickens both believed it should have been a penalty after the game, but Hochuli’s description of the situation did not support that claim. The referees were criticized on both sides, though, because the Bengals were furious over a false start call that should have been offsides against the Steelers and would have also resulted in a first down.
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