Two plus two is indeed five.
An erroneous whistle should have ended a play before Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd caught a pass in the end zone for a touchdown late in the first half of Cincinnati’s win over Las Vegas. The NFL’s official explanation is that the whistle came after the pass was caught.
Even if the whistle clearly came before the pass was caught.
In a pool report following the seven-point win by the Bengals, NFL senior V.P. of officiating Walt Anderson explained that it was determined that the erroneous whistle happened after Boyd caught the pass.
“We confirmed with the referee and the crew that on that play -- they got together and talked -- they determined that they had a whistle, but that the whistle for them on the field was blown after the receiver caught the ball,” Anderson said.
Pool reporter Paul Dehner sought clarification of that point. They didn’t think the whistle was blown while the ball was in the air?
“That’s correct,” Anderson said. “They did not feel the whistle was blown before the receiver caught the ball.”
It’s just not accurate. The whistle plainly could be heard before the ball was caught. Indeed, if the whistle was blown after the catch, there was nothing “erroneous” about it.
Anderson also pointed out that, by rule, whether an erroneous whistle sounded is not reviewable. And it wasn’t reviewed. It was discussed. And the discussion was wrong.
That’s the NFL’s story. And the NFL presumably will be sticking to it.