NFL Officiating SVP Defends Controversial Cassius Marsh Taunting Call in Video

Perry Fewell, the NFL's senior vice president of officiating, defended the controversial taunting penalty against Chicago Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh from Monday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

In a video released by NFL officiating on Twitter (starts at 1:00 mark), Fewell said Marsh took "several steps toward the Pittsburgh bench, posturing toward their sideline" before the official threw the flag. 

With the Steelers leading 23-20 late in the fourth quarter, Marsh sacked Ben Roethlisberger for a loss of seven yards on 3rd-and-8. 

It's unclear exactly when the official, Tony Corrente, made the decision to call a penalty on Marsh. He looked like he was reaching for the flag when the Bears linebacker appeared to be saying something in the direction of the Steelers bench. 

But it was a few seconds later, when Marsh inadvertently made contact with Corrente as he was running back to Chicago's sideline, that the flag was thrown and the Steelers got a first down after the 15-yard penalty. 

Marsh told reporters after the game it was "pretty clear" that Corrente hip-checked him. 

"If I was to do that to a ref or even touch a ref, we get kicked out of the game and possibly suspended and fined," said Marsh. "I just think that that was incredibly inappropriate."

Per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the NFL believes the taunting call on Marsh "was justified and it has no plans to modify this season’s strict taunting enforcement."

The Steelers got a field goal on the drive to take a 26-20 lead with 2:52 remaining.

Chicago's offense was able to drive down the field on its next possession, culminating with Justin Fields' 16-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney. 

Pittsburgh got the ball back trailing 27-26. It gained 52 yards on seven plays to set up Chris Boswell's go-ahead field goal with 26 seconds left to play. 

The Bears attempted a 65-yard field goal as time expired, but Cairo Santos' kick fell well short of the crossbar to seal their fourth consecutive loss. 

The officiating in this game was heavily criticized by players, fans and analysts. The Bears were flagged 12 times for 115 yards, compared to five penalties for 30 yards against the Steelers.

There appeared to be multiple times when officials could have called the Steelers for unnecessary roughness penalties against Justin Fields, but they elected to hold on to the flag.