BALTIMORE -- The Steelers had to fight back from a four-point deficit to beat the Ravens 16-13 Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium.
However, there was one moment that appeared to gift Baltimore four precious points near the end of the first half.
With the game tied, 3-3, the Ravens were driving deep into Steelers territory to try and get some points before receiving the kickoff to start the second half. The Steelers' defense appeared to do their job and forced the Ravens into settling for a Justin Tucker field goal after Arthur Maulet tackled J.K. Dobbins nine yards short of a first down.
However, as Cam Heyward, Ronnie Stanley and Ben Powers were pushing and shoving on the pile that followed the tackle, Heyward was flagged for unnecessary roughness, giving the Ravens a fresh set of downs at the Steelers' 7-yard line.
But, upon further review, it's difficult to see what kind of "unnecessary roughness" Heyward actually commits:
Couldn't be clearer here that Cam Heyward gets pulled forward while trying to get up. At which point -- and only because of that -- his arm makes contact with the official.
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) January 2, 2023
Atrocious call. Especially in that context:pic.twitter.com/7ernksOYQo
As you can see, Heyward and Powers are kind of pushing each other back and forth while Stanley lays on the bottom of the pile. Then, after Heyward gets a good shove on Powers, Stanley grabs the inside of Heyward's shoulder pad and pulls him down on top of him. Heyward raises his hands in the air to show he's not initiating anything, but his right hand contacted the nearby official on the way to the ground.
Any intentional contact with an official is an automatic penalty, and usually results in some sort of fine as well. However, referee Land Clark addressed the situation with reporters after the game and never mentioned the contact with the official as part of the reason for the penalty.
"Well, there was some pushing and shoving after the play," Clark explained. "Number 97 continued to push after the play and that’s why it was called."
That's not how Heyward described it after the game.
Dejan Kovacevic: "Well, you had no intention..."
Heyward: "No."
Reporter: "They called you for touching the referee?"
Heyward: "Yes."
Reporter: "Not for the scrap?"
Heyward: "No."
Only in the NFL. And you may not see it in the clip above, but Heyward was beside himself after the call, especially when the Ravens scored on the very next play.
Fortunately for the Steelers, Kenny Pickett helped engineer another fourth-quarter comeback and the Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive with the victory to improve to 8-8 on the season.
"I would have felt horrible if we had lost this game," Heyward said. "That was such a critical play."