Game Week 18 has officially commenced, and so have controversies. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers 16-14, and somewhere the OPI call against WR Tetairoa McMillan played a key role. While the NFL’s Game Day show covered the McMillan incident, they clearly omitted another controversial play from the Raymond James Stadium: QB Bryce Young’s illegal backward pass.

“Walt Anderson did not address the erroneous administration after the mistake made by the officials regarding the backward pass,” wrote ProFootballTalk on X. “The Panthers should have been permitted to re-do the play. They weren’t.”

The Carolina Panthers were first-and-ten earlier in the third quarter. When Young was pressured, he threw the ball on his right to WR Rico Dowdle from the 34-yard line. But referee Brad Allen blew the whistle, stopping the play, deeming it to be a forward pass. Dowdle had enough space to pick up the ball and run, but could not because of the whistle. After review, they changed the call to a backward pass, but by then all the damage was done.  The ball was pretty much in play, but the referees called it out of bounds, causing a loss of 7 yards for the Panthers.

Walt Anderson is the NFL’s spokesperson, who comes to the show every week talking about controversial plays. Although he gets very little time, he covers the important calls. However, this week, things were different as he completely omitted talking about the backward pass controversy. Anderson omitted discussion of the officiating errors and the league’s improper administration. Even though the score wouldn’t change, his leaving the incident out offered little soothing for the Panthers fans after what they went through.

The play should have been a redo for Carolina from first-and-ten. Unfortunately, the refs went the opposite way. They started the play at second-and-17 from the 41-yard line. This was a loss of crucial yardage for the Panthers in their drive. By the end of the play, they went for a field goal, but Ryan Fitzgerald went on to miss a 54-yard field goal.

While the decision went against him, Young had a decent game. He completed 24-of-35 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. It was not just Bryce Young. Even Tetairoa McMillan went through a similar kind of situation with the refs. Fortunately, he received support from former NFL safety Ryan Clark.

Panthers’ Tetairoa McMillan finds support in an NFL legend after the controversial call

Following the situation around Bryce Young, Tetairoa McMillan also faced a similar situation. Although he had the best figures as a WR with four receptions for 85 yards, it was not his day. The referees gave the decision against him. However, the wide receiver has found some cushion in Ryan Clark’s words.

“That’s a bad penalty,” said Ryan Clark, via X. “Can’t call that. Absolutely unacceptable OPI call on Tet McMillan.”

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In the third quarter, Bryce Young threw the ball for Tetairoa McMillan, who made a 32-yard reception. However, the officials denied the play because McMillan committed offensive pass interference on Benjamin Morrison. The Panthers were third-and-two at that point, but thanks to the penalty, they ended the drive without scoring.

It was just not Ryan Clark. Other prominent names also called out the decision. Former cornerbacks Devin McCourty and Jason McCourty also supported the wide receiver by saying that it was a tough call to make. As per Tom Pelissero of NFL Insider, Brad Allen had some legit reasons to call out the OPI.

“The covering official saw that the receiver created separation more than one yard downfield, which by rule is illegal and is offensive pass interference,” answered Brad Allen to FOX’s Greg Auman’s question regarding the OPI, via Tom Pellisero on X.

As a result of these decisions, things have become a lot more interesting in the playoff race. It is up to the Atlanta Falcons to decide who will make it to the playoffs from the NFC South. Both the Panthers and Bucs are on 8-9. The Falcons are 7-9 and will face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. If they win, the Panthers go through; otherwise, the Bucs will be the 4th seed in the NFC.