Marvin Lewis, Domata Peko Comment on Last-Second Penalty Call vs. Cardinals

The Cincinnati Bengals are riding a two-game skid after starting the season 8-0, and their Week 11 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday was a gut-wrencher.

They fell 34-31 on a game-ending field goal favorably positioned after Bengals defensive lineman Domata Peko drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag for simulating the snap count. 

Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis said Monday he was perturbed by the call, per the team website: 

"

It’s disappointing to get back into the football game and then the drive down the field there. Who knows, they get the phantom call there at the end, it’s kind of ridiculous. … I trust what our player [Peko] did and said. He’s alerting a run and not anything to do with what they’re saying. I don’t see how they make that call at that point in the game like that. 

"

The penalty played a pivotal factor, as the Cardinals were staging a spike at the 28-yard line, which would’ve amounted to roughly a 46-yard field-goal attempt. But instead, the infraction moved the ball half the distance to the goal, up to the 14-yard line, and set up Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro with a 32-yard chip shot.    

Even more gut-wrenching, Cardinals offensive lineman Ted Larsen jumped offside on the play Peko was penalized, which would’ve taken 10 seconds off and pushed the game to overtime. 

Here is a video of Lewis' reaction during his postgame press conference, via NFL.com:

Peko claims the referees mistook his barks at the Bengals defense for falsely shouting out attempts to simulate the call, per Coley Harvey of ESPN.com: "We were still running back from our prior play, and I was just saying, 'Get set, get set, get set. I don't know if 'set' sounds like 'hike' to them. I don't know if it was the way I said it quicker like, 'Get set!' with the bass in my voice or whatever. I don't know."

With just six weeks remaining, all games are vital—particularly in the highly competitive AFC, where the Bengals are now tied for the No. 2 seed and trail the New England Patriots by two games for home-field advantage. But Cincinnati also has the Pittsburgh Steelers in its rearview for the AFC North crown at 6-4, with a remaining game against Ben Roethlisberger (health-pending) and Company in Week 14. 

The Bengals are likely headed to the playoffs—at the very worst as a wild card—and should expect to play close games in January. And although Sunday’s call was a questionable one, they'll need to avoid being put in such situations if they hope to shake their one-and-done stigma.