Three calls, including two replay reversals in the fourth quarter, proved critical in the Ravens' 27-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
The one that will be highly scrutinized is Isaiah Likely's overturned touchdown catch, which would have given the Ravens the lead with just under three minutes left.
Likely caught the ball inbounds and took two steps. Just before his foot came down for a third step, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. knocked the ball out of his hands.
The play was originally ruled a touchdown, but it was quickly overturned and called an incomplete pass after review.
In a pool report after the game, NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth said Likely did not complete the final third step of a catch, an "act common to the game."
"For this play, it would be him completing the third step," Butterworth said.
According to the NFL Rule Book, an "act common to the game" can be extending the ball forward, taking an additional step, tucking the ball away and turning upfield, or avoiding or warding off an opponent, or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so.
Did Likely extend the ball forward after the first two steps were checked off? Did he avoid or ward off an opponent?
"They made a call, and we have to live with what the referees say at the end of the day," Likely said. "I guess I have to just get my third foot down."
Jackson and other Ravens players thought it was a touchdown.
"I believe so. I thought it was," Jackson said. "In the end zone, taking steps. [Their guy] just kept punching at the ball. That's all I can see."
"I think common sense will tell you that's a catch," left tackle Ronnie Stanley said. "A lot of things get overthought, but it is what it is."
The Ravens still had a second-and-10 after the incomplete pass, but they were hit with a 2-yard loss on third-and-2, and then Jackson's fourth-down pass intended for Mark Andrews or DeAndre Hopkins was broken up.
The Likely ruling was the second of the fourth quarter that went against the Ravens. Earlier, Aaron Rodgers had a pass batted at the line of scrimmage. He and Teddye Buchanan both caught the rebound, and the Ravens linebacker came away with it.
However, after replay, it was ruled that Rodgers got his knees down before losing possession. Instead of the Ravens taking over possession in scoring position at the 32-yard line, Rodgers was credited with completing a pass to himself.
"The offensive player had control of the ball and as he was going to the ground, there was a hand in there, but he never lost control of the ball and his knees hit the ground in control," Butterworth said.
Head Coach John Harbaugh was asked for his take on the play.
"When you're making a catch, you have to survive the ground. He didn't survive the ground," Harbaugh said. "He's not down by contact, he was catching the ball on the way down with another person, so you have to make a catch there and survive the ground. I don't know why it was ruled the way it was on that one. So, all those things, I'm sure they'll explain to us, but they had plenty of time to look at it, and they're the ones who are the experts on the rules, so that's how it works."
The third debatable call came in the second quarter when Ravens nose tackle Travis Jones was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty during a 32-yard field goal. Jones appeared to be trying to split the gap and made contact with long snapper Christian Kuntz.
The penalty gave the Steelers an automatic first down and Kenneth Gainwell scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown on the next play. It was a four-point swing.
"You cannot make any forcible contact to that player," Referee Alex Moore said. "The calling official felt like the contact rose to the level of being unnecessary against a defenseless player."
"I didn't see the head and neck contact," Harbaugh said. "That's what I did not see, which you need to have head and neck area contact there, and it has to be forceful contact, not incidental contact. But, I didn't see any contact myself."
The Ravens still had a chance to win after each of those calls went against them. And while the frustration of being on the wrong end of the calls and reviews stung after the game, Baltimore knows it must move on quickly with four games left in the regular season.
"I just felt like we were robbed there, but there's a lot of stuff we have to clean up," wide receiver Rashod Bateman said of the Likely overturned touchdown. "We didn't lose because of that play. We didn't lose because of my play. We [lost] because there is a whole collective of stuff that we have to clean up to get better."
