171 plays. That’s how many replays officials scrutinized from the 2025 NFL regular season. And now the league wishes five of those could have gone differently. But wishing doesn’t change standings, and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson knows that better than anyone.

The NFL confirmed what Ravens Flock had long suspected: a crucial Week 14 replay review in the Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers game was wrong. Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a pass that got deflected back to him. Even as Rodgers caught the ball, Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan wrestled it away and secured possession of the ball. The on-field officials correctly called it an interception until the replay overturned it, awarding Pittsburgh a bizarre self-catch.

A league spokesperson confirmed to Pro Football Talk that NFL Executive VP Troy Vincent acknowledged the Rodgers reversal as one of the calls the league wishes it could turn back. The fallout from that replay decision was steep. That sequence created a 50-yard field position swing. The Steelers burned out the clock, and Baltimore ultimately lost 27-22. What hurt even more was that this was the rivalry battle that would have decided the AFC North title. And when Lamar Jackson saw this update, he couldn’t help but clap back with some dry humor and laughing emojis:

“So technically we won?” Jackson wrote on X. “10-7 1st offseason win ever. 🤣🤣”

But while Jackson chose humor to express his frustration, his teammate, linebacker Kyle Van Noy, went a step further, highlighting three miscues by the refs in that divisional showdown.

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“Have we ever seen the NFL come out months after a game has been played (a couple weeks after the entire nfl season finished) and admitted they didn’t get 1 huge crucial call in the biggest NFL rivalry game,” Van Noy wrote on X. “But they got 2 Crucial calls in same Game wrong!!! So the total was 3 horrible calls in 1 game… Thats insane!”

“1. INT Rodgers, 2. Likely touchdown, and 3. Travis Jones 15 yarder on field goal (they came out with this Tuesday after the game saying they got it wrong) Wow!!!!” Van Noy continued before driving the point home. “Accountability kinda sorta not really but something kinda… We need some sort of action now because this can not happen at the highest level. I understand 1 but 3????? Smh.”

The comparison is damning, too. In the Denver Broncos’ playoff win over the Buffalo Bills, cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian stripped wide receiver Brandin Cooks before he completed the catch. That interception stood. But Buchanan did the exact same thing against the Steelers for Baltimore. Now we know that his interception would have stood, too.

It’s a series of what-ifs that plague this latest development now. Had the Ravens won that game, would they have propelled themselves to a deep playoff run? And the even more tragic interpretation: if that game had been in the bag, would John Harbaugh have had to step down from his head coaching role? These questions now hang heavy in the Baltimore air, with no answers to satiate a fuming fanbase.

One of those three bad calls Van Noy mentioned erased an Isaiah Likely touchdown, potentially costing Baltimore its entire season. Now, the Ravens can’t reverse the past, but Lamar Jackson has already made his first offseason request clear: he wants Likely back in purple.

Lamar Jackson wants his tight end back for 2026

Isaiah Likely heads into free agency after an injury gutted his 2025 campaign. A broken fifth metatarsal held him to just 27 catches for 307 yards and one touchdown. But these numbers don’t capture what he means to this offense.

Lamar Jackson made his stance unmistakable. When Bleacher Report asked fans to complete “Isaiah Likely will be a ____,” Lamar simply replied with a “@Ravens🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾💜”. It was a public nudge to the front office dressed as a social media comment, just like Jackson’s comment about the overturned Rodgers interception.

More than anything, it highlighted the bond these two share. Likely had once called Jackson his “big brother” when asked about their relationship in an interview. So when the question came to Likely about his future in Baltimore, he, too, made his stance clear.

“I love Baltimore,” Likely said on the Gruden Goes Long podcast. “They took a chance on me when all 31 didn’t, so like, the end day, I tell everybody, ‘Baltimore’s home for me.’ But at the end day, business is business.”

But that “business” part is the catch for Baltimore. The Ravens extended tight end Mark Andrews back in December 2025, handing him a three-year, $39.3 million deal with $26 million guaranteed. Meanwhile, Likely projects a minimum of $8.8 million annually, given his age (25) and upside.

Now, keeping two premium tight ends on the payroll may not be the way new head coach Jesse Minter goes. The Ravens have a new season ahead of them with a new coaching staff and a lot to prove. It would be a tough ask to shell out top dollar to keep Lamar’s request, but so was watching a season slip away over three bad calls. The question is, what will Baltimore do next?