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Officiating Expert Says Titans' First Touchdown Should Have Been Penalized

Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) catches a touchdown pass as he is defended by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) in the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) catches a touchdown pass as he is defended by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) in the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Titans' A.J. Brown is a physical wide receiver, but he got away with one on Tennessee's first touchdown.

Brown pushed cornerback Marlon Humphrey's shoulder in the end zone and hauled in a 10-yard touchdown to give the Titans an early first-quarter lead.

Humphrey fell to the turf and immediately threw out his hands looking for an offensive pass interference call. Brown immediately looked at the referee, but no flag came.

Former referee turned ESPN officiating expert John Parry said offensive pass interference should have been called.

"Downfield, it's all about advantage. Does anyone create the advantage?" Parry said. "I think this left hand creates the advantage to the [wide receiver] there. Arm gets extended, creating the offensive pass interference. I would have a foul there."

Parry said it would be interesting to see how the rest of the game was officiated. The Titans receivers are big, physical players, so if they're allowed to push the Ravens defenders off, it may be to their advantage.

Social media reacted to the non-call with various opinions:

In the fourth quarter, wide receiver Willie Snead IV was flagged for offensive pass interference after the Ravens picked up a key fourth-and-2 conversion. That forced the Ravens to settle for a 51-yard field goal by Justin Tucker to extend their lead to seven points.

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