Texans lost to the Raiders after referees blew two critical calls. Monday night was a good one for the Raiders and a bad one for NFL officiating. DeAndre Hopkins got robbed of a touchdown by terrible NFL referees. They said he stepped out of bounds. Replay shows otherwise. In the fourth quarter, refs blew the call on a critical spot that should've given Houston a first down.
NFL referees aren’t getting any better, and there’s no easy way to fix it
Referees made two critical mistakes that cast a shadow over Oakland’s Monday win. Would full-time officials help the problem?
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Bill O’Brien was unhappy with the officiating in the Texans’ loss to the Raiders. As he should be. However, he didn't go so far as to criticize officials directly, because the NFL fines coaches for that kind of thing. Texans fans are mad at the refs -- they should be -- but the team didn't do itself any favors.
MAKING IT WORSE: Video appears to show referees high-fiving Raiders in the tunnel. A conspiracy theory! In a game where there were several questionable calls that went against the Texans, this will only stoke the fires of Texans fans who believe the officials were the difference in tonight’s contest.
TIME FOR FULL-TIME REFS? O'Brien isn't the only coach criticizing refs lately. Mike Tomlin had something to say about the officials this week, and he wants full-time officials. Tomlin called the officiating in Sunday's win over the Browns "questionable" after the game was over and he didn't back off that feeling during his Monday press conference. That echoes Sean Payton's remarks from earlier this month.
And the NFL is actually considering more full-time officials. Responding to comments by Sean Payton that not having full-time NFL officials is "madness," Dean Blandino said the league will discuss the possibility of making more officials full-time. However, there's a case to made that full-time refs won't fix anything.
POWER RANKINGS: New NFL power rankings, Week 12: Cowboys, Seahawks, Patriots still the class of the NFL. Betting favorites won big in Week 11, and that means the power rankings didn’t shuffle much.
THE EXTRA POINT RULE IS GOOD: NFL kickers missed a record 12 extra points on Sunday, proving this rule change is great. More two-point conversions, please.
CUTLER OR ROMO? Jonez on Jonez: Are you a Jay Cutler or a Tony Romo? There are only two kinds of employees in the working world: Jay Cutler and Tony Romo. Which one are you?
RAIDERS ON TOP: NFL playoff picture: Raiders grab top seed in AFC. With their 27-20 win over the Texans, the Raiders have moved into a position the franchise hasn’t seen in a very, very long time — the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
GOOD NEWS FOR ARIANS: Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians released from the hospital. Arizona’s coach had suffered from chest pains.
AMAZON WANTS FOOTBALL: Amazon is exploring adding live sports to its Prime offerings. Good news for cord cutters.
LUCK OUT THIS WEEK: Andrew Luck isn't playing on Thanksgiving, so Scott Tolzien will start for the Colts. Andrew Luck is in the concussion protocol, and it's almost impossible that he'll be cleared in time to play Thursday. Worse, Luck could miss multiple games with a concussion. "There’s concern about multiple weeks" with Andrew Luck’s concussion said one report on Tuesday.
CUTLER’S SEASON MAY BE OVER: Cutler may be done for the year. From the When it rains it pours department: The Chicago Bears are exploring whether or not they need to shut down quarterback Jay Cutler for the remainder of the 2016 season.
VICTORY LAP: Adam Gase is now on the ‘I told you so’ tour because the Dolphins keep winning. Adam Gase always believed in Ryan Tannehill and he’s making sure everyone knows it.
JOB SECURITY: Chip Kelly says he and Jed York have not had conversations about job security. Job security questions are not going away anytime soon.
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