The Pittsburgh Steelers had one accepted penalty go against them during Thursday night’s loss to the New England Patriots. It sure was a big one.
While the Steelers clawed back from the 18-point deficit they faced in the second quarter, they ultimately fell just short, losing 21-18 to the Patriots. A critical penalty might have played a key role.
Facing a fourth-and-three from their own 38 with just over five minutes remaining, Pittsburgh lined up to punt. The Steelers seemed to get a good break, though, as New England linebacker Jahlani Tavai appeared to jump offsides before the ball was snapped. He didn’t seem to be illegally drawn off. Pittsburgh celebrated and there was essentially no argument from Tavai and his teammates. The officials, though, saw it differently.
When the penalty was announced, Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz was called for a false start. Rules analyst Terry McAulay disagreed with the call, saying “They’re saying he made a quick and abrupt movement prior to the snap. I don’t see this as quick and abrupt. I mean, obviously, it’s subjective. But this looks like normal movement that we see from a long snapper. I think this should have been on the defense.”
Terry McAulay, Al Michaels, and Kirk Herbstreit think the Patriots, not the Steelers, should've been penalized on a crucial 4th down call. 🏈🦓👮♂️🎙️ pic.twitter.com/T7V0oJ0VSg
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 8, 2023
Following the game, Kuntz (per Brian Batko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) also disagreed with the call.
Steelers snapper Christian Kuntz said he doesn’t think he made any abrupt head movement that would’ve resulted in the false start penalty called on him on that late punt where it looked like NE was offsides. “They jumped,” Kuntz said. “That’s what happened.”
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) December 8, 2023
There was a lot of disagreement surrounding the call on Thursday night.
So where was the false start on the longsnapper?
— Schlasser (@UrinatingTree) December 8, 2023
NOT A FALSE START. Ref 🤡 show pic.twitter.com/UAQy77puPm
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) December 8, 2023
HOW THE HELL IS THIS A FALSE START ON THE #STEELERS.
THE REFS DO NOT KNOW THE RULEBOOK. pic.twitter.com/ltS5vh2ele
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 8, 2023
If this was a false start then I'll eat my Terrible Towel. pic.twitter.com/zVjHR2GdpC
— Billy Hartford (@BudDupreeFan) December 8, 2023
In what world was that a false start?
— Jordan DeFigio (@fidgenewton) December 8, 2023
While the Steelers did punt the ball, they got it back after forcing a three-and-out. Their ensuing possession got to just short of midfield before a turnover on downs.
So, the controversial call didn’t leave Pittsburgh without a paddle. But it was definitely a talking point in the final minutes of the close game.
[Brian Batko on Twitter/X, Photo Credit: Amazon Prime]
