Super Bowl officials miss Rams' false start before calling questionable penalty against Bengals' Logan Wilson

02-14-2022
4 min read
(Getty Images)

The officials weren't all that involved in Super Bowl 56, but there were a few controversial calls that proved consequential in the contest.

Two of them came on one play during what proved to be the game-winning drive for the Rams.

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Los Angeles had the ball on the Cincinnati 8-yard line down 20-16. The Rams were facing a third-and-goal when Matthew Stafford dropped back to pass. He tried to get the ball to Cooper Kupp, but Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson knocked it down on what appeared to be a clean play in coverage.

However, Wilson was, surprisingly, whistled for defensive holding. That gifted the Rams a first down, but replay showed that any grabbing of Kupp on Wilson's part was minimal.

Making matters worse for Bengals fans, the play almost certainly should have been blown dead before it began. Three members of the Rams' offensive line — the left tackle, left guard and right tackle — appeared to get an early start and should have been called for a false start.

However, Ron Torbert's crew evidently didn't see this. So, the play was allowed to continue and resulted in the Rams getting a fresh set of downs.

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The call on Wilson seemed to open the penalty floodgates. Only four penalties had been been called in the game before the holding call on Wilson. The officials called four total infractions in a span of three plays on that game-winning drive.

Ultimately, the Rams came away with a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line as a result of those penalties. From there, Stafford was able to find Kupp on second down for the game-winning score.

Though the call on Wilson was questionable, it didn't bother Bengals coach Zac Taylor too much. He called the play "tough" but praised the officials for their performance during the Super Bowl.

"I thought it was a really well-officiated game to be quite honest with you," Taylor said during his postgame news conference. "And sometimes it comes down to moments like those. I don’t have a great look at it, but I thought the officials did a nice job."

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