Schefter: Jerome Boger, Refs from Raiders-Bengals Not Expected to Work in Playoffs

Referees assigned to Saturday's Wild Card Game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders are not expected to receive further assignments this postseason.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported referee Jerome Boger and his crew are expected to receive poor grades for their performance, which was highlighted by an errant whistle on a Joe Burrow touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd in the second quarter:

A referee mistakenly blew his whistle, believing Burrow stepped out of bounds as he threw the ball to Boyd in the end zone. After officials huddled, they ruled the whistle occurred after Boyd caught the pass and affirmed the Bengals touchdown.

Replay indicated the whistle clearly blew before Boyd had caught the ball. By rule, the touchdown should have been nullified and the down should have been replayed from its original spot.

The Raiders were incredulous at the call on the field but took a more tactful approach after the game.

"In the moment, we didn't know because we heard a whistle," Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said. "The ref said he was out, and then they said it was a touchdown—and then there was no review. So we were just like, 'All right,' so we just kept going. We had our opportunities. We just didn't capitalize."

Schefter's report indicated there has been some concern regarding Boger's performance this season.

Boger, 66, has been an NFL official since 2004.