15. Phantom Hands To The Face
The most recent instance of referees possibly costing a team a game is a blatant one. The Detroit Lions certainly deserve a large amount of blame for settling for five field goals against their rival Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football in Week 6 of the 2019 regular season. But the fact remains that the referees robbed them. Many are calling for some kind of officiating overhaul, yet the NFL is unlikely to actually do anything substantial.
The referees called Detroit pass rusher Trey Flowers not once, but twice for illegal hands to the face in the fourth quarter. Replays showed Flowers held onto the inside of the shoulder pads of Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari, allowing Green Bay to extend their drive and score a touchdown. They later won the game on a last-second field goal. It’s just a terrible look for the NFL as a whole and was the talk of the sports world in October 2019.