The Atlanta Falcons should be leading at halftime against the Seattle Seahawks, but officiating is who to blame. The Falcons and Seahawks are tied 6-6 at the break, but that's because the officials waved off a 25-yard touchdown from Kirk Cousins to Darnell Mooney because he stepped out of bounds.
The play was called a touchdown on the field, before a replay review overturned the call, which led Atlanta to settle for 43-yard Zane Gonzalez field goal late in the second quarter. Shortly after, the Seahawks added three points of their own, but the Dirty Birds should have come away with six points.
NFL rules expert Mike Pereira admitted on air that Mooney did step out of bounds, but re-established himself in bounds and the call should have been upheld upon review. He took three steps in bounds, but one step out of bounds practically screwed the Falcons right out of a deserved halftime lead.
Officials screwed the Falcons out of long touchdown against the Seahawks
The 28-year-old receiver seemingly connected with his veteran QB for another big play, but good things can't happen at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Against a 9-3 Seattle team who have been among the biggest surprises in the NFL this year, the Falcons have given them an incredibly tough out.
However, the missed call on the field is already proving costly. Instead of the score being 10-3 or 10-6 at halftime, the game was tied, and it was proven just how costly the refereeing miscue was after Rashid Shaheed ran back the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a Seahawks' kick return touchdown.
The call felt like an obvious Falcons' touchdown, but the refs (somehow) saw otherwise. Cousins and Mooney would have scored the first touchdown of the game, but instead, a Bijan Robinson fumble has Zac Robinson's offense in an even deeper hole at home against a far superior NFC opponent.
Making matters even worse is the fact that the incompletion came on third down, and the Falcons weren't going to go for it on fourth down in a tie game. If the play occured on first or second down and the red zone drive stalled, the offense would be more to blame, but this unfortunately isn't the case.
The Falcons are sitting at 4-8 and are at risk of falling to 4-9 and being officially eliminated from playoff contention with a loss today. Officiating has been worse across the NFL this year, but the refs are making the hill even harder to climb for Raheem Morris and company.