The Carolina Panthers had reached the breaking point in their quest to secure the NFC South crown. Their Week 16 home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came with the highest stakes imaginable attached, so the last thing head coach Dave Canales wanted to see was the officials making themselves the center of attention.
It didn't take long for this concerning scenario to surface. It also seemed like the refs couldn't wait to screw the Panthers after an egregious special teams call that could have been a lot worse for the franchise.
Carolina Panthers fell victim to poor officiating, not for the first time this season
After the Panthers' defense recovered from some early jitters to hold the Buccaneers in field goal range midway through the second quarter, veteran defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson was inexplicably called for a personal foul for what was supposedly targeting a defenseless offensive lineman to bolster his leverage in pursuit of blocking the kick.
However, a closer look at the replay showed that this was questionable at best. FOX Sports analyst Mark Schlereth agreed, stating that the decision, which saw Robinson's knee barely graze an offensive lineman and involved no use of his arms, was 'kind of ridiculous' in the grand scheme of things.
This was the second time Robinson had fallen victim to a penalty call on the drive. The first one, an illegal use of the hands infringement, was also right on the borderline of being acceptable, and one could make a strong case that the former Alabama game-wrecker was being held shortly beforehand.
Nothing much seemed to go right for the Panthers over the opening exchanges. They were having trouble generating any rhythm, especially on offense. They weren't exactly helped by poor officiating, but they did at least hold the Buccaneers to a field goal, keeping them in the fight.
This game was in a pressure cooker. It was always going to be decided by razor-thin margins, and the refs — not for the first time around the league this season — were found wanting when it counted.