The Week 14 Ravens-Steelers game featured multiple mistakes by the officials. At the time, the NFL admitted one. Today, the league admitted another.
The third was apparently admitted, until it wasn’t.
For starters, the league admitted after the game that an unnecessary roughness penalty called on defensive tackle Travis Jones was not a foul. On Tuesday, the NFL confirmed to PFT that the decision to use replay review to reverse a Ravens interception by linebacker Teddye Buchanan into a catch by Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was an error.
Along the way, the league did — then didn’t — say that the controversial touchdown catch by Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely was incorrectly overturned to an incompletion. The NFL’s official position continues to be that the decision was accurate. (We still believe it was a catch, with the replay process focusing on whether Likely took a third step and ignoring the other ways to complete the process.)
Multiple Ravens players have noticed today’s developments. Said quarterback Lamar Jackson on Twitter, “So technically we won? 10-7. 1st offseason win ever.”
Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy had more to add.
“Have we ever seen the NFL come out months after a game has been played (a couple weeks after the entire nfl season finished) and admitted they didn’t get 1 huge crucial call in the biggest NFL rivalry game,” Van Noy tweeted. “But they got 2 Crucial calls in same Game wrong!!! So the total was 3 horrible calls in 1 game…. That’s insane! 1. INT Rodgers , 2. Likely touchdown , and 3. Travis Jones 15 yarder on field goal (they came out with this Tuesday after the game saying they got it wrong). Wow !!!! Accountability kinda sorta not really but something kinda… We need some sort of action now because this can not happen at the highest level. I understand 1 but 3????? Smh.”
SMH indeed. The mistakes directly impacted the outcome of a key AFC North game, and may have directly impacted the division championship, with the Steelers and not the Ravens advancing to the postseason.
One of the strangest plays of the 2025 NFL season was called correctly on the field, only to be overturned by replay review.
In the Week 14 Ravens-Steelers game, Aaron Rodgers threw a pass that was batted back to him, and Rodgers grabbed the ball, as did Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan. They wrestled for it as Rodgers went to the ground, Buchanan ended up with it, and the officials on the field ruled it an interception. Then a replay review ruled that Rodgers had possession of the ball with a knee down, and Rodgers caught the pass.
That replay review was incorrect. A league spokesman confirmed to PFT that when NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent said there were replay reviews the league wishes it could have back, that ruling of a Rodgers catch was one of them. It should have been an interception.
That play was a big moment in the fourth quarter of a big win for the Steelers, as it allowed the Steelers to run another minute off the clock and resulted in a 50-yard field position swing between where the Ravens would have had the ball if the interception had stood, and where the Ravens got the ball after the Steelers punted. Considering that the Ravens ended up narrowly losing, and ultimately losing the AFC North because of that loss, it’s a huge disappointment to Ravens fans that the replay review process overturned the correct call on the field.
Now that the league office has had time to carefully scrutinize the play, PFT is told that the Rodgers play should have been ruled the same way as the Bills’ interception in overtime of their playoff loss to the Broncos. On that play, Bills receiver Brandin Cooks did have the ball as he went to the ground, but he did not complete the process of the catch by maintaining possession on the ground. Denver’s Ja’Quan McMillian snatched the ball away from Cooks and secured the interception, just as Buchanan snatched the ball away from Rodgers and secured the interception.
On McMillian’s interception, the ruling on the field stood. It should have stood on Buchanan’s interception as well.
While there’s no guarantee quarterback Aaron Rodgers will play in the 2026 season, the Steelers would like to have him back.
General Manager Omar Khan said at the scouting combine on Tuesday that Pittsburgh is keeping the proverbial light on for Rodgers.
“The door’s open to have Aaron back,” Khan said Tuesday. “I’ve had conversations with him — I spoke to him last week. [Head coach] Mike McCarthy’s spoken to him. He knows how we feel about him. Right now, we’re proceeding [as if] he’s a free agent and he’s not on the roster. But, he knows how we feel about him.”
Rodgers, who turned 42 in December, is thought to be contemplating retirement. But Khan noted he doesn’t have much of a sense as to whether Rodgers’ decision will come down to just retiring or playing for the Steelers in 2026. With Rodgers as a free agent, he could also end up elsewhere.
“You know, that’s a question for Aaron,” Khan said. “He knows how we feel and we know how he feels. It was a good experience for both sides. Unfortunate we didn’t reach our goals on winning the games we wanted to win at the end. But there’s a mutual respect there.”
Khan, however, also said he doesn’t anticipate the situation with Rodgers and the Steelers to drag on as it did in 2025. While there was clear interest in the two sides throughout last offseason, Rodgers didn’t officially sign with the club until June 6.
“I think the circumstances are a little different,” Khan said. “But just conversations we had, I think neither side wants to have this drag on like it did last year.”
Rodgers started 16 games for Pittsburgh last year, completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 3,322 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He then completed 17-of-33 passes for 146 yards with an interception in the club’s playoff loss to the Texans.
One of the biggest calls of this NFL season came in the Week 14 Ravens-Steelers game, when Baltimore’s Isaiah Likely scored what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown with 2:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, only to have the on-field officials’ ruling overturned by replay. Now NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent is suggesting the on-field officials were right, and the replay reversal was wrong.
Vincent told Mark Maske that the Likely play was among a handful of replay rulings that the league office has had second thoughts about.
“There was two plays in particular,” Vincent said. “There was the Likely play . . . Ravens-Steelers in the end zone. And then you had the one—there was a Jets play. But it was the Likely play that you go, that was interesting because of the third step and they were talking about the ball extended out. So it was: What constitutes that third act?”
It doesn’t engender a lot of confidence in the league’s officiating when league executives are still not clear on what constitutes a third act necessary to completing a catch. And Vincent’s statement doesn’t conclusively say that the replay overturn was wrong. But it sounds like the league now thinks the ruling on the field of a Ravens touchdown should have stood.
If the touchdown had counted, the Ravens probably would have won that game. Change the result of that game, and the Ravens win the AFC North, as they would have finished tied with the Steelers in the standings and would have won the tiebreaker based on a better division record. If the Ravens had won the AFC North, John Harbaugh might still be their coach. Someone else would be coaching the Giants. A whole lot would be different.
Vincent acknowledged that there were some replay reviews he is second-guessing, and he said most of those came in the early Sunday afternoon window when there are several games going on at once and the league’s replay office is slammed.
“When you watch, there was about five plays,” Vincent said. “Of the 171 plays that we called on replay or replay assist that came back to the booth, there were five that we said if we had to do it again, on just the replay assist, in general. Of that 171 that occurred during [the] regular season, there were five after we kind of took a step back and breathed-four of them [were] in the 1 o’clock window. Just volume and you go, ‘Ah, if we had to do that one again, just looking at it.’ ”
The idea that NFL officiating is going to be worse in the 1 o’clock window because the league officiating office has too many games to follow at once should not be acceptable to anyone. The league needs to make sure its officiating office is fully staffed at all times, with competent officials who can make the right call. Every time.
UPDATE 8:39 a.m. ET: An NFL spokesman clarified with PFT that while the Likely play was discussed in detail, it was not one of the handful that Vincent was referring to that the league would like to have back.
UPDATE: 11:34 a.m. ET: The NFL has confirmed that Vincent did acknowledge another play in that Steelers-Ravens game, an interception thrown by Aaron Rodgers, was ruled correctly on the field and should not have been overturned on replay.
Every year, the coaching carousel spins first. Then, the quarterback carousel whirls.
It’s coming soon. Veteran quarterbacks will be cut, traded, signed. Teams will reshuffle their depth charts with changes at the most important position on the team.
In a recent item about the potential contract prospects of Packers (for now) backup Malik Willis, some of the veteran options were listed. Here’s a look at the various teams that will have decisions to make regarding veteran quarterbacks currently on the roster, or to be added once the new league year begins.
Dolphins: They have a decision to make about Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins owe him $54 million in 2026. The two-year (or one-year, if they choose to rip the Band-Aid in one motion) dead-cap charge for cutting Tua would be $99.2 million. They need to decide what to do with Tua, and whether to add a veteran — like Willis. They’d surely love to find a way to trade Tua, even if it means selling some of the cap charge to another team by attaching a draft pick to Tua’s contract. And since they owe him every penny of his 2026 pay, they could choose to keep him around. (That would fully guarantee another $3 million for 2027, however.)
Jets: Justin Fields likely will be cut. Half of his $20 million salary for 2026 is fully guaranteed. They’ll likely be looking for a veteran, possibly on a short-term basis, to run new coordinator Frank Reich’s offense.
Steelers: They’re willing to wait for Aaron Rodgers, which would take them out of play for a veteran in the early days of free agency. Willis or Cousins could be intriguing options, if they find out before March 11 that Rodgers won’t be returning.
Browns: Who knows what they’ll do? Deshaun Watson is under contract for another year, at $46 million. Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel are, too. Will the new half-regime led by coach Todd Monken want a veteran from the outside?
Ravens: In the unlikely event the Ravens trade Lamar Jackson, they’d need a new quarterback — presumably one with starting experience.
Colts: Daniel Jones, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, likely will be back. Anthony Richardson has one year left on his rookie deal; he’s under contract for 2026 at guaranteed pay of $5.385 million. If Jones leaves, the Colts would need another veteran.
Raiders: They owe Geno Smith $18.5 million for 2026. Another $8 million becomes fully guaranteed on March 13. Would someone trade for him at $26.5 million? He could be cut. The Raiders also could keep him as the bridge to Fernando Mendoza, if they make him the first overall pick.
Vikings: They want a veteran who’ll compete with J.J. McCarthy. That could make it harder to attract a veteran who’ll want a commitment that he’ll be QB1. Based on McCarthy’s performance and durability in 2025, however, most veteran quarterbacks with reasonable confidence would believe they can win a fair and square competition. If they believe the competition will be both fair and square.
Falcons: They haven’t committed to Michael Penix Jr. being the Week 1 starter, and for good reason. Penix is recovering from his latest ACL tear. Cousins could, in theory, return after being released. That seems unlikely. Another veteran is possible for the new-look football operation led by Matt Ryan, Ian Cunningham, and Kevin Stefanski.
Cardinals: The moment Kyler Murray was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury that was supposedly healing, the message was clear — it’s over for Murray in Arizona. The Cardinals owe him $36.8 million for 2026, with another $22.55 million in 2026 pay and 2027 salary hitting the books early in the 2026 league year. If not traded, he’ll be cut. Willis could be an option for the Cardinals. Rodgers potentially could be a target, too.
With the Scouting Combine beginning soon, the carousel will start moving. Coaches and General Managers who take the podium on Tuesday or Wednesday will be asked pointed questions. Agents will meet with teams.
