Controversy abounds as Titans eliminate Steelers in OT thriller
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Steelers were livid in the moments after their gut-wrenching 34-31 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans in an AFC Divisional Playoff game Saturday at The Coliseum. Of course, they were disappointed to have seen their season come to an end, but there was more to it than that.
The Steelers openly questioned some of the calls made against them during overtime, officials’ calls they believe should not have been made and one they believe should have been granted.
And the team expects some sort of communication from the league office come Monday morning. The league will likely call to deliver an apology or to levy fines against some players and coach Bill Cowher for the comments they made Saturday night.
Cowher admitted he was risking a fine when he accused the officials of taking the game out of the players’ hands. His contention was that Dewayne Washington should not have been called for roughing Titans kicker Joe Nedney when the kicker missed a 31-yard field goal.
“For a game to be decided on that call is ludicrous,” said Steelers coach Bill Cowher. “A game can’t be decided because a kicker takes two steps and we have someone slide into him. We had some chances to win but we had some taken away from us, too.”
Washington admitted he made contact with Nedney, but added that the contact came after Nedney’s kicking foot hit the ground
“I didn’t feel I roughed him,” Washington added. “His foot was clearly down. I wasn’t even thinking anything about a penalty. I thought the play was over. When I saw the flag, I didn’t know what they could be calling.”
Washington was asked if such a call should have been made in an overtime playoff game, with so much riding on the outcome.
“I’m not Paul Tailgate,” Washington said. “I don’t know what should or should not be called.”
Washington said he thought Nedney did some acting to draw the flag and earn another shot at winning the game from five yards closer. He did get that shot and connected to end Pittsburgh’s season at 11-6-1.
Linebackers Joey Porter and Jason Gildon were the loudest critics of the officiating crew. Both noted that the contact came well after the play was over and added that they tried to call a timeout before Nedney’s winning kick.
“We asked for another timeout and the official said we didn’t have any,” Porter said. “It’s disappointing that we go out there and put it all out there, all we have to help this team win and then to have it all taken away because they don’t know the rules.
“We tried to tell them that this is overtime and we should get three timeouts, but they wouldn’t listen to us.”
Indeed, referee Ron Blum had informed both benches and the fans at the beginning of overtime that each team would be granted three timeouts for each overtime session that would be necessary. The Steelers called one before Nedney’s missed kick and were hoping to call one before his winning kick.
“We put ourselves in position to be right where we were last year, but now we can’t get there,” Gildon said. “There is no way they should have made that call, not with what was at stake.”
In the wake of last weekend’s officiating blunders which cost the New York Giants a chance at a game-tying field goal in a loss to San Francisco, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue changed some rules in terms of positioning officials for potential game-ending plays. He also admitted the officials had erred.
“You would think they would have gotten it right after what happened last weekend,” Gildon said. “The league made sure all the teams still involved got a copy of the new things. You’d think the officials would have been clued in, too, that they wanted things to be handled properly.”
Quarterback Tommy Maddox, who almost pulled off another amazing comeback victory, was cautious with his words, but managed to convey his message nonetheless.
“I’m going to try real hard not to say anything I’ll regret,” Maddox said. “But it’s unfortunate for everyone to fight as hard as we all could fight, but to have the outcome come down to an official’s call. We just kept battling the whole way. We fought back from down 14 and we had our chances to win. But the way it ended, that is one that will be hard to swallow.”
In fact, it could take a while for the team to get over the circumstances of this loss. It will hurt for a good, long while.