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Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH — In the aftermath of a 20-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Diontae Johnson expressed his frustration with the officiating crew, believing they cost the Pittsburgh Steelers the game.
The Steelers’ wide receiver was particularly upset about an offside call on right guard Isaac Seumalo, which nullified a 55-yard field goal by Chris Boswell. If the field goal had been successful, it would have reduced the Jaguars’ lead to three points going into halftime.
“Refs were just killing us the whole game,” Johnson stated. “The same refs we had at training camp. I didn’t like the refs today. At the end of the day, we can’t keep complaining about the refs. Like Coach [Mike Tomlin] says, we can’t worry about the refs, but everyone has different opinions.
“I didn’t like the refs today. They must’ve got paid well today or something, but they blew it with that field goal. That really hurt us going into halftime. We needed that.”
Johnson expressed frustration with the inconsistent roughing the passer calls, including a non-call when Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was hit to the ground by defensive end Adam Gotsis right before halftime.
“They were calling some stupid stuff,” Johnson stated. “They should get fined for making those bad, terrible calls. That’s how angry I am. They cost us the game. I don’t care what anyone says. They cost us the game.”
Johnson continued: “[The officials] wanted [the Jaguars] to win, bro. Everything was in their favor. They were getting every little call. But, like I said, I’m moving on from it. I’m ready for Thursday.”
In a pool report, referee Alan Eck explained the call on Seumalo.
“The right guard was lined up in the neutral zone,” Eck said. “His head was over the back edge of the ball, so by rule, that’s an offensive offside foul. It’s a live ball foul, so we let the play go through and then we mark off the 5-yard penalty and replay fourth down.”
Although Tomlin didn’t directly criticize the officiating, he did remark on the rarity of the call against Seumalo.
“I didn’t get a lot of dialogue,” Tomlin said when asked whether there was an explanation given from the officials. “I hadn’t seen that called in 17 years of standing on sidelines. Offsides, lined up offsides on a guard, on a field goal protection. It didn’t matter what they said. I’ve never seen that.”
“They should get fined for making those bad, terrible calls. That’s how angry I am. They cost us the game.”
Diontae Johnson, on the officials in Sunday’s game
NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson responded to Tomlin’s assertion regarding the call.
“Whether players are called for offsides, that’s the judgment that’s made on the field,” Anderson said.
Eck added: “It was a judgment call. It was obvious on the field, so we went ahead and called it.”
Prior to the field goal attempt, the officials made several calls that angered the Acrisure Stadium crowd. A fumble by Pickett as he ran out of bounds resulted in the officials giving him the yardage but enacting a 10-second run-off. On the next play, Pickett was hit hard by Gotsis, causing the Steelers to be charged a timeout for an injury after the two-minute warning. The crowd booed loudly after each instance and chanted “ref you suck” after the offside flag on the field goal attempt.
The Steelers (4-3) were penalized six times for 52 yards, while the Jaguars were penalized six times for 72 yards. The Steelers were flagged on key plays, including a defensive pass interference against James Pierre on the Jaguars’ first drive on third down.
While Johnson was critical, fellow Steeler Patrick Peterson had a more measured evaluation of the officiating crew.
“As players, all we can do is control what we can control,” Peterson said. “The refs have the responsibility to call the game correctly. That’s the way they saw it. We can’t argue with them. It’s behind us now. We just have to find a way to overcome things like that and not let it be an issue.”
Quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who replaced Pickett and completed 15 of 27 attempts for 138 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, downplayed the impact of the officiating.
“I’m not really too concerned with the officiating,” Trubisky said. “For me, it’s about executing, being on the same page, and communicating effectively regardless of the call. We need to improve our communication on the field, down and distance, and getting the right personnel in the huddle so we can operate more efficiently.”
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