At a loss for words, San Diego fans?
There are times when even the most red-blooded football fan finds a string of four-letter epithets inadequate. After a hell of a game in Denver, Mike Shanahan and Co. will treasure a huge victory in their home opener over the Chargers.
But, did the Broncos deserve the victory?
Admittedly, "winning's winning" doesn't really cut it sometimes, and even the most subjective Bronco fans have to feel a little hollow after their Week Two win.
San Diego had two key calls go against them, as they fell to the Broncos by one point in a finale reminiscent of their Week One loss against Carolina.
In the first half, Chris Chambers caught a short pass from Phillip Rivers at the beginning of a San Diego drive deep in their own territory. Chambers would be stripped by Champ Bailey (after Chambers was down by contact).
After an obvious challenge by Chargers coach Norv Turner, the play stood because, amazingly — the review equipment was malfunctioning. Denver promptly marched down the short field for a touchdown.
Denver's offense manhandled the Chargers' defense throughout the first half, taking a 31-17 lead at halftime. In the second half, San Diego stormed back and scored 21 unanswered points to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, 38-31.
Denver used receiver Brandon Marshall (who nearly eclipsed an NFL record with 18 catches) throughout their last drive, pulling into the red zone, down to the San Diego two-yard line.
Bronco QB Jay Cutler—who had thrown an interception in the red zone earlier—fumbled the ball in an attempted pass. Chargers LB Tim Dobbins recovered at the Denver 10, but the play was ruled an incomplete pass.
After a booth review (as the play was after the two-minute mark), referee Ed Hochuli pointed out that although the play was a fumble, he had blown the whistle when Cutler's fumbled ball fell to the ground; the play was effectively dead.
The Broncos scored two plays later and defeated the Chargers on a two-point conversion.
Official blunders and malfunctions accounted for two momentum-changing plays that gave Denver the opportunity to score 15 total points.
In the era of instant replay, shouldn't we use this tool to make sure every call is correct?
Why is it ultimately the referee on the field the man who gets to correct the mistake every time? If the replay device on the field isn't functioning, why can't the referees in the booth make the call?
What is it with obscure NFL rules that take the power out of the players' hands to win or lose a game? Sure, Hochuli might have blown the whistle, but neither Dobbins nor Cutler stopped running toward the ball after it fell to the ground.
Referees should only make sure that calls go the right way and should have less responsibility for determining when and how a play is over if a replay can set the issue straight.
Today, the NFL revives ugly precedents: The Holy Roller game and the infamous "Tuck Rule" playoff call. It's time to punish both players and referees for their mistakes.
Non-calls by referees can't be challenged, but penalties called by referees against players can't be challenged either!
With each passing year, referees gain more power and influence over the way a game goes, with their possibility for human error surpassing even the technology put in place to correct those mistakes.
If this is the way the NFL thinks is fine for games to be handled, then we must ask the following question:
Why not just let 22 referees take the field and play each other?
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Eric Gomez is a Mexican writer currently attending San Diego State University. He covers San Diego-area sports and a bevy of other sports, such as soccer, boxing, basketball and tennis. You can find his archive here.
22 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Raider Card Addict 9 months ago
That game was a crock. Pure and simple. Denver lost at home, but suddenly, a ref decided they couldn't.
Not to the Chargers. In Invesco.
If I was Norv Turner, I'd have slapped Ed with a clipboard, and let the players have a few free shots.
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Ian Philip 9 months ago
LMAO
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Ian Philip 9 months ago
"Why is it ultimately the referee on the field the man who gets to correct the mistake every time? If the replay device on the field isn't functioning, why can't the referees in the booth make the call?"
That's the best damn call I've heard all day!
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Stanko_360 9 months ago
there was fumble but broncos deserved to win.they played really well.broncos is playoff team this year.
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Stanko_360 9 months ago
why didn't chargers defense stop broncos on the TD and on the 2 point conversion,so you still have to give broncos credit
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Joe G 9 months ago
That's not the point. SD shouldn't have even had to worry about a game-winning two point conversion. They made a heads-up play by recovering a fumble, and were't rewarded for it.
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David-S Serdinak 9 months ago
How in the hell can you write that? The Chargers DID stop them! Not only were they stopped, they took the ball away assuring the victory but the ref decided the game was going to Denver. It was a sad day for the NFL regardless of who you root for. You should be embarrassed to ask why they didn't stop Denver on that drive.....
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Stanko_360 9 months ago
no coach would go for 2 in this point of the game except for mike shanahan
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Eric Gomez 9 months ago
San Diego's defense got their asses kicked, no doubt about it - but Denver was not properly punished for their mistakes! It should have never gotten to that point. Chambers didn't fumble, Cutler did. Enjoy your dirty 15 points and your dirty win, Denver.
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Joe G 9 months ago
Didn't see the first call, but I did see the second, and it was among the worst ever. How about this: The NFL needs to train its officials to not blow a play dead if there is any doubt about whether or not it's a fumble. Plays like this happen more than once a season. If the play isn't blown dead but turns out not to be a fumble, a review can always correct it. But if the play IS a fumble and is blown dead, there's no room for review to fix it. That's a gaping oversight in the rules for using replay and you're right, it needs to be fixed now.
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David-S Serdinak 9 months ago
They ARE told to let a possession play continue until possession is decided. The refs are told to always blow a whistle late, rather than early, when there's a potential change of possession. Hochule did a terrible thing that casts dispersions on his integrity. How can every team playing have replay, but these two. The game should be halted until it was fixed. There was two rotten calls that awarded the loser the win. He should be suspended.....at the least.
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Damien Lewis 9 months ago
Denver was clearly handed a win by the refs, but it's not like the Chargers made Jay fumble. They didn't earn a turn over. As the announcer said, it was a freak accident. That said, I'm in now way saying it was right. The idiot wasn't careful in the clutch, and should have payed for his clumsiness. I just don't feel bad about taking a win. At the end of the day, it is what it is... a W.
Denver sports is due for a bad call going our way anyway. I'm still not over how the refs screwed the Nuggets against the Lakers a few years back.
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David-S Serdinak 9 months ago
Why be upset over the bad call against the Nuggets? According to you, a win's a win.
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Damien Lewis 9 months ago
That's true, and if it happened against the Lakers I'd be fine.
I never said the other team doesn't have the right to be pissed. I'm simply saying that as a Denver fan, I don't care as long as we won.
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Sayre Bedinger 9 months ago
Last I checked everyone, Ed Hochuli ruled the ball a fumble. That is why the ball was placed on the ten yard line instead of the one. Just to clarify, the ball was ruled a fumble. However, he blew his whistle because from the angle he had, the play was dead on an incomplete pass. You can't earn a fumble on a dead ball. How unfortunate that the NFL had to decide a game based on the judgement of the men who are paid to judge a game.
Yeah, the ball should not have been blown dead, but it was. That is the game. Both teams played a hard fought game, and the outcome is what it is, nothing we can do or say.
Complain all you want, the Broncos are 2-0, Chargers are 0-2. It's over. It's done.
There was no conspiring whatsoever, and the Chargers had a few no-calls of their own on pass interference and holding, not to mention a roughing the passer call that was complete bull. Or how about the chop block call? Weak sauce. How about Karl Paymah's only good play of the game called a pass interference?
It goes both ways NFL fans, and the magnitude of any penalty in such a heated game is crucial.
There is no such thing as luck.
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Eric Gomez 9 months ago
What a really cozy argument. See, since my team won this particular argument I'm going to focus on "what's done is done and we can't change it". Aww, how nice.
Unfortunately, what you're saying is total crap. See, "non-calls" for penalties are always subjective in the eyes of fans, let alone refs. Roughing the passer? Yeah, you can't touch a QB in this day in age. That goes for all teams. Holding calls?
Good God, there are holding penalties ON EVERY PLAY. Uhh, a chop block is any block that goes beneath the knees. He did that. You're going to cry about a pass interference call? What about Cromartie getting 15 yards on a facemask penalty where he didn't even so much as graze the player going up towards the ball?
My article doesn't talk about conspiracy. It talks about terrible calls in the age of instant replay. We can't sit back and go "oh well" when we have the means to fix things now. The Holy Roller game is a part of NFL lore (and a game that changed the rules in the league), this is just a travesty. How the hell do you arbitrarily place a ball on the ten, admitting that it was a fumble if he blew the play dead thinking it was an incomplete pass!? It's two bad calls in one!
Luck is always present in games, it's embedded in the freaking shape of the ball. You never know which way it's going to bounce. Ed Hochuli and the referees decided the outcome of this game by handing Denver two calls that should've gone San Diego's way. Denver overpowered San Diego's defense (on short fields) to get those 15 points, the refs didn't hand them the points, but it should have never gotten to that point.
That is why what happened was wrong. Oh, and you don't need to tell us what each team's record is. I'm going to call out your thinly veiled homerism with a blatant statement of my own: Enjoy that win. I'll enjoy watching the Chargers in the playoffs and the Broncos sitting back in Denver, out of the postseason.
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Brittni O'Ryan 9 months ago
Great game! Rivers isn't talking crap now is he? thats what happens when you "act" like you're all that when clearly you aren't. Karma's a bitch
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David-S Serdinak 9 months ago
no, you are
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Eric Gomez 9 months ago
Hahaha. Karma. Yeah, that's the very definition of karma, isn't it - one person does something "bad" and then 53 get punished for it.
I'm in awe of your philosophical virtues.
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terry yunie 9 months ago
Just wanted to say this how us Raider Fans feel everytime a Judgement call goes against us. I feel for you charger fans, cuz i hate the broncos more than i hate the chargers.
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Thomas 9 months ago
i was shocked that the Chargers lost.
this just hurt my fantasy team...
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Sayre Bedinger 9 months ago
The Broncos are not to blame for the outcome. The Broncos did not decide who had possession after the fumble. All the Broncos did was take advantage of an opportunity. Would I be mad if I were a charger fan? Of course I would be. The Chargers still had three chances to prevent a win, and 24 seconds to get a field goal.
It is a shame that this one call, which could have happened in the opening seconds had to happen in the closing seconds, but it did. End of game, end of story. The standings will never read Chargers almost 1-1 or Broncos almost 1-1. Yes, I am biased, and I will probably sleep easier than Chargers fans, but for a man to admit his mistake on national TV, and risk his playoff job, its pretty gutsy.
Bad calls are a part of the game, and Ed Hochuli makes very few. It was the situation in which the play presented itself.
The Chargers season is not over because of this play, but it puts them in a hole to start the season.
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