The Bears had a touchdown taken off the board on Monday Night Football when Chicago’s James Daniels was flagged for an illegal low block on Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt. Referee Tony Corrente’s explanation won’t satisfy the Bears.
Although Watt appeared to be inside the tight end box when Daniels went low to block him, Corrente said he was outside the tight end box.
“The new rule this year is there should be no contact below the waist to any player outside of the tight end box. And this player initiated low contact to a player outside the tight end box,” Corrente said.
It also wasn’t even clear if Daniels ever touched Watt. Replay angles were inconclusive, but Watt appeared to avoid Daniels. If there was any contact, it was incidental. But Corrente didn’t see it that way.
“I have to judge that there was contact, and that’s what I judged,” Corrente said.
The call was incredibly costly for the Bears, as they had to settle for a field goal after the 15-yard penalty wiped their touchdown off the board. That essentially means the call cost the Bears four points in a game they lost 29-27.