In the third quarter of the Week 5 game between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, there was a play that caught the ESPN booth’s attention. Troy Aikman, Russell Yurk, and Joe Buck slammed the referees for a missed call.
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During the play, Josh Allen was trying to send the ball to Dalton Kincaid for a potential 15-yard gain. However, Rams defensive back Quentin Lake held Kincaid down with both his hands. What surprised the ESPN booth was that the officials didn’t even throw the flag.
When the ESPN analysts looked at the replay, Aikman noted that he could see why Lake was looking at the referee. Yurk wasted no time in agreeing with Aikman. To him, it was “clearly a foul.”
“It was right on the Bills’ sidelines, and Joe Brady, he’s giving it to the officials,” Aikman noted. “He’s wondering why there wasn’t either.”
Meanwhile, Buck called it a “massive miss.” After all, the play should have been flagged for defensive pass interference, which occurs when a defender illegally hinders an eligible receiver’s opportunity to catch a forward pass more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage. It results in a 15-yard penalty for the defense, and the offensive team automatically gets a first down.
“He’s definitely grabbed there, right at the break,” Yurk chimed in. “And by the time the official would look back, the ball would be in the air. That should be defensive pass interference, which is a pretty good chunk of yards.”
“You said it, Joe,” Aikman added. “A huge non-call, which would’ve pretty much put them in position to at least come away with some points in this drive.”
Had the officials dropped the flag, the Bills would have received 15 yards. That would have taken them beyond the 50-yard line. And a first down would have kept things steady for Allen. However, Allen’s next pass on third down was left incomplete. That left the Bills with no options but to punt.
To make things worse, the referees made a controversial call when James Cook appeared to have fumbled and handed the ball to the Rams on a previous play. Referee Scott Novak’s team awarded the recovery to the Rams. However, the officials reversed the call and let the Bills continue their drive.
But that seemingly didn’t matter to Joe Brady and his crew. After the Rams secured three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with running back Kyren Williams rushing for a one-yard touchdown with just five seconds left on the clock, the scores were tied at 34.
But the Bills acquired the ball, and Tyler Bass scored a 45-yard field goal with 1:55 remaining on the clock. The play brought the Bills their fourth win of the season, after they were left disappointed by the 29-26 defeat against the New England Patriots in Week 4.
For now, the Bills are aiming at the Week 6 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.