Last season, in their Week 8 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants believed they got a bad call. In the second quarter, with the game tied 7-7, the Eagles were going for their signature tush push. Quarterback Jalen Hurts got the first down. But while he was moving forward, the Giants’ Kayvon Thibodeaux ripped the ball out of his hands. The move looked like a fumble. The officials called it a forward progress stopped. The Birds never looked back in the 20-38 win. Postgame, as Thibodeaux complained about the call, he was quickly shut down by his teammate: “You will get fined,” he said.

When playing a game, you shouldn’t be fixated on one call and should play to the best of your abilities. But the question is, what if those calls change the whole outcome? What happened to the Baltimore Ravens yesterday in a 24-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints was something similar. Yet, with quarterback Lamar Jackson airing his frustration, he could face discipline by the league, except in one case.

“I’m a Raven, I don’t think he scored,” Jackson told reporters post-game. “But refs, you know, they went with their call, and it is what it is.”

At 4th & goal with the game tied 17-17, Saints QB Tyler Shough tried to sneak in for a 1-yard touchdown, hoping to break the plane of the goal line. In the scuffle, it seemed like Shough lost the ball during his fall, and Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey eventually picked up the loose ball. But the officials had another decision in mind.

They awarded the Saints a touchdown, putting them in a 24-17 lead with only 1:28 left in the game. The Ravens did get time for another drive, but Jackson threw an interception to safety Julian Blackmon to effectively end the game. Now, while the Ravens are upset with that touchdown, NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth later explained why they did not overturn the call on the field.

“The key here is the ruling on the field is a touchdown,” said Butterworth. “So, we need clear and obvious video evidence that he didn’t score in order to reverse the on-field ruling. 

“We stopped the game, it’s a high-leverage play, we wanted to make sure to either find clear and obvious video evidence that he didn’t score or to confirm the call on the field. We exhausted all available angles and could not prove clear and obvious that he did not break the plane of the goal line.”

Now, of course, the NFL has a strict rule against players criticizing officials. In such instances in the past, players have faced up to $25,000 in fines, as Puka Nacua did in 2025 for criticizing officiating. But Jackson could be saved from the fine in one instance.

Lamar Jackson can dodge the penalty one way, but he has bigger concerns to solve

Generally speaking, the league grants leeway to players who pop off in the heat of a postgame moment. Jackson clearly had that. Moreover, he didn’t exactly “pop off.” Nacua’s criticism was straightforward, calling out the officials. But Jackson did accept the call, only sharing his personal opinion on what he saw from his vantage point. First Amendment, y’all! But as I said, that is the least of his problems.

With Jackson already frustrated with his contract situation with the Ravens, the team is vying for a deep playoff run with him around. But yesterday’s game was an eye-opener.

The Ravens lost a 17-9 lead in the fourth quarter to the Saints. On the back of Tyler Shough’s heroics, the Saints scored 15 unanswered points. On 2nd & 4, Shough threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave to level the score, and then came the final controversial moment of his 1-yard QB sneak. This could be a problem considering they face a high-scoring team next week as they host the Dallas Cowboys. And if they can take anything from yesterday’s game, it would be to take chances, just like the Saints did.

In the third quarter, Baltimore had a 17-9 lead and forced a three-and-out with sacks by Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green, getting the possession to make it a two-score game. But things didn’t work out for them as they went 16 yards backwards and settled for a punt. The Saints followed it up with a touchdown with 9:42 remaining. Then, another fault by Jackson gave the ball back to New Orleans.

After a three-and-out, Jackson threw long on third-and-1. But his pass to Chris Moore was broken up by Kool-Aid McKinstry to give the ball back to the Saints. Ravens’ new head coach Jesse Minter, too, accepted that play was not the right call.

“A play that we liked, thought we had a shot there for an explosive,” Minter said. “Obviously, didn’t work out, so it’s always going to be, you know, looking at it after the fact.”

Next week, the Ravens will host the Cowboys. Last season, they were 3-6 at home. And after already going 0-1 at M&T Bank Stadium, they would like to turn the tide. However, it still comes down to the Saints’ final two plays and how the officiating practically handed the visitors the win, something no one on the Ravens was happy about.

The Ravens agreed to disagree with the final call

Understandably, on the Ravens’ side, Lamar Jackson wasn’t the only one upset with the call. Even coach Jesse Minter and linebacker Roquan Smith, who leapt over the pile to try and stop Shough, shared similar statements.

“You know, those are so subjective and so hard to tell,” Minter said. “It is what it is, honestly.”

Smith, too, took the route of letting it go despite the game-changing nature of the call.

“At the end of the day, whatever the refs call on the field, that is what it is. I did not see it as one, but at the end of the day, they get paid to make the calls out there, I get paid to play ball to the best of my ability, so I cannot focus on what is out of my control.” 

Unfortunately for the refs, the pileup at the touchdown line prevented a clear line of sight. Even the Saints’ head coach agreed.

“It’s a hard play on the goal line because … sometimes they lose sight of the football. I think it’s a challenging play for everyone,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “Fortunate for us to get that. Obviously we’re going to go for it in that situation. Chance to score a touchdown. If not, we’re forcing them to be on the minus-1 and go the long way.”

For now, Jackson and the Ravens need to accept the bitter ruling. At 1-1 after Week 2, they will next face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, September 27.