Steelers Great James Harrison Rips Officiating Crew For Handing Colts A Win
Former Steelers strongman and linebacker James Harrison lost his cool on social media over what he perceived as terrible officiating that supposedly led to Pittsburgh's loss against the Colts.
Despite losing their starting quarterback (inserting the ageless Joe Flacco), Indianapolis won, 27-24, to improve to 2-2.
Harrison called the Colts' win a product of terrible, biased officiating and congratulated the home team's officiating crew for their win.
Harrison posted on X, reacting to Indy's win: "Final score, @NFLOfficiating @Colts, win the game 24-27!"
The Steelers great then proudly exercised his privilege to speak without facing a league fine.
"Sorry but I can’t be fined!!" Harrison also posted.
To be fair, the Colts got off to a faster start than the Steelers, jumping to a 17-0 lead in the first half.
Flags flew Sunday for the Steelers crew as Pittsburgh accrued six penalties for 53 yards. One key flag came in the third quarter when Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was hit with an unnecessary penalty to set the Colts up for a score, extending their lead to 24-10.
Fitzpatrick sounded off on his flag, calling it a cheap penalty that again punishes a player for tackling with some extra ‘English.’
"I thought we were playing football …. This is not the game I grew up playing… you can’t hit anybody," Fitzpatrick said.
"That call on Fitzpatrick is going to change the whole outcome of this game," Harrison posted on X earlier in the game.
Another crucial call during the game was a ‘fumble’ called on Steelers quarterback Justin Fields, whose knee appeared to make contact with the ground before the ball was loose. Unfortunately for Fields and the Steelers, the refs saw a turnover and handed the ball to Indy.
It was a rough week for NFL officiating, starting on Thursday when referees called a puzzling 'face mask' penalty on a Giants player, despite a clear review showing that the Cowboys player was the one with a handful of mask.
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