During the Browns-Vikings game in Week 5, kicker Will Reichard missed a 51-yarder in what was his first miss of the season. He, and pretty much everyone, believed that the ball had clipped a camera wire. Al Michaels even mentioned it on the broadcast, saying the kick hit the wire. But apparently, the NFL didn’t love that take.

Earlier in the Chargers-Vikings game, Al Michaels made it known that the Vikings kicker’s only missed FG this year was the one that hit a camera wire in London. Michaels later revealed the league told him to “correct” himself, claiming it was just an optical illusion, not a deflection.

He’s got some guts saying that out loud. Honestly, watching it live, it was tough to spot the deflection. Even Kevin O’Connell said he “didn’t notice anything during the game.” But once you slow down the replay, the ball did hit the wire. And Al Michaels is basically calling it out on air? That’s bold. He’s not exactly saying what the league probably wants him to.

Even the Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard criticized the call to rule out the field goal, and didn’t care if he got fined for it. “He kicked the ball and I see how it went wide and I’m like, something’s off. Me? I’m gonna say yes. The cord definitely did hit it, and we missed the field goal. I don’t know if I get fined. Whatever the case may be, I’m standing on it,” he said.

The Vikings still came out with the win, but this would’ve been a much bigger talking point if the Vikings had lost. Will Reichard was 3-3 before that ‘miss’. And this wasn’t the only controversial call that week.

Jets faced a similar fate to the Vikings

In Week 5’s Cowboys vs. Jets game, Justin Fields dropped back and tried to hit Breece Hall on a screen pass. The ball bounced off Dante Fowler Jr.’s helmet, shot straight into the air, and smacked right into the SkyCam. Unlike the Vikings’ play, this one was obvious. Everyone saw it right there and then.

Instead of calling it dead and replaying the down, the refs just let it stand as an incomplete pass. The Jets had to settle for a field goal on their opening drive. Sure, they went up 3-0, but they eventually lost 37-22. When you’re a winless team, missing a do-over like that actually matters.

And this isn’t some gray-area judgment call either. The rule is crystal clear. “If a loose ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam, or any other object, the ball will be dead immediately, and the down will be replayed at the previous spot.” So yeah, that’s a big mistake on the referee’s part.

At this point, the NFL might as well own up to it instead of trying to silence the broadcasters. The fans saw it. The players saw it. Everyone knows those plays should’ve been redone. And now, with Al Michaels speaking up, the league just looks worse for pretending it didn’t happen.