The most controversial play of the Pittsburgh Steelers Week 14 loss to the New England Patriots came in its final minutes. Trailing 21-18 and facing 4th and 3 with five minutes to go, the Patriots appeared to jump offsides, giving Pittsburgh a would-be first down. Even the Patriots seemed to accept their looming fate of giving the Steelers a free five yards.
Then the call came in. A penalty not on New England but Pittsburgh long snapper Christian Kuntz for a false start. In the moment, the call was universally panned with even former NFL ref and rules analyst Terry McAulay critical of the decision, believing it should’ve been called on New England.