Jets win over Browns raises more questions than answers about NFL officiating

Going into this game between the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, Cleveland entered the day as the most penalized team in the NFL. If you didn't know that beforehand, there was no chance you would've guessed that based on how this game was officiated.

The Jets finished the game with a whopping 10 penalties for 102 yards, while the Browns had just six, netting 30 yards.

The sheer number of penalties for the Jets is obviously a lot, and something they have to take care of going forward, but that wasn't the story of this game. The story was that it felt as if the Browns got every benefit of the whistle.

Questionable calls go against New York Jets in Week 5

Let's start with one that everyone can agree on: roughing the passer. The league does all that it can to protect its quarterbacks. Almost any hit up high gets called, whether it's deemed late or not. That wasn't the case in this game.

Geno Smith took a hit up high from Jared Verse that, shockingly enough, did not get called for a penalty.

Smith took to Instagram to share his displeasure, and he has a point. One, as stated, the NFL usually calls hits to the head roughing the passer, and two, the Jets more than tripled the Browns in penalty yardage in the game

Another example you could point to is the fair catch interference sequence. First, Malachi Corley clearly bumps Isaiah Williams after he receives a punt that he fair catches, and there is no call on the field. On the very next Jets punt, Malik McClain hits the Browns returner, and then the flag comes out.

The argument isn't that Malik McClain's hit wasn't a penalty; it clearly was. The game has to be called fairly. The first initial hit that Corley had on Williams also had to be a penalty.

The Jets' defensive line was having a day, as they finished with eight sacks in the game. Something they didn't benefit from, or at least didn't benefit enough from, was holding calls. There were multiple examples of either David Bailey or Will McDonald being held that were straight-up ignored.

Again, if the sequence of the game is established and the refs are just letting the guys play, that's one thing, but when the penalty differential is that extreme, it raises an eyebrow. Especially when that team entered the game with the most penalties in the NFL.

Jets fans weren't the only ones upset with the officiating in this game. Aaron Glenn was seen screaming at multiple officials in the first half of the game.

It's hard enough for the Jets to win games on their own. They certainly don't need to be going up against the officials in addition to whoever they're playing.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow