Many of the fans arriving for Sunday’s Ravens-Bengals game found their seats covered with snow. League rules require all snow to be removed by the home team.
The Bengals admitted that the seats hadn’t been cleared. The NFL has provided a comment in response to an inquiry from PFT.
“The league’s football operations and security departments were in contact with the club and stadium personnel over the previous 48 hours regarding snow removal,” a league spokesperson said by email. “The field, sidelines, aisles and walkways were prioritized and appropriately cleared throughout the weekend.
“Additional snowfall occurred overnight which resulted in minimal accumulation within the stadium bowl. Mitigation efforts were implemented to ensure the field and stadium were ready for the game. Stadium personnel assisted fans at their seats as necessary.”
The photo attached to this story shows the condition of the seating on Sunday, prior to the game. Whether or not that counts as “minimal accumulation” is in the eye of the beholder. And it appears that there was little if any “additional snowfall” overnight; most of the snow that was on the seats fell before Saturday night.
Regardless, the snow is supposed to be removed. The Bengals didn’t remove it. And the league seemed to be inclined to accept the team’s explanation for not removing it.
Ravens Clips
The Ravens remain alive in the race for the AFC North, but the Bengals do not.
Lamar Jackson threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and safety Alohi Gilman returned a Joe Burrow interception for a score in the fourth quarter of a 24-0 Ravens victory. The loss eliminates the Bengals from the playoffs for the third straight season.
Jackson hit running back Rasheen Ali in the face of a blitz in the second quarter and Ali turned the short pass into a 30-yard score that got the Ravens on the board. Jackson closed out the half with a 28-yard strike to Zay Flowers that ended the longest streak of games without a multiple touchdown performance of his career.
Jackson was 8-of-12 for 150 yards and he also threw an interception, but he also picked up 26 yards on the ground and it was a better overall performance than he’s had in several weeks. The limited passing attack was balanced by 166 rushing yards for Derrick Henry and Keaton Mitchell and the Ravens only ran 40 offensive plays over the course of the afternoon. The Bengals ran 71 plays and had the ball for nearly 40 minutes, but it was not a day to remember for Burrow or the offense.
Burrow threw another interception in the first half and he was sacked three times as the Bengals picked up just 298 yards on those 71 plays. His pick-six came on a throw inside the Ravens’ 10-yard line, but Burrow didn’t see linebacker Kyle Van Noy drop into coverage. He nabbed the ball, handed it to Gilman and that essentially ended the competitive portion of the proceedings in Cincinnati.
Burrow said during the week that he wants to get back to having fun on the football field and the flop that the Bengals produced on Sunday isn’t likely to lead to any smiles for the quarterback or anyone else. The Bengals have now lost 10 games for the first time since 2020 and there will be plenty to figure out as they try to stop their drought in 2026.
The Ravens are 7-7 and will head to New England in Week 16. Before they get to Gillette Stadium, they’ll spend Monday night rooting for the Dolphins to knock off the Steelers to keep things as tight as possible in the division.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has thrown a pick-six in the fourth quarter for the second straight week.
Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy dropped off the line and snagged a pass intended for Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki on the Ravens’ 5-yard line. Van Noy handed the ball off to safety Alohi Gilman after running 11 yards and Gilman took it the rest of the way for a touchdown.
The score pushed the Ravens’ lead to 24-0 with 7:38 left to play in Cincinnati.
It was Burrow’s second interception of the game and it came when it finally looked like the Bengals might have some fight in them on a freezing day in Ohio. Thanks to Van Noy and Gilman, it now looks like the Bengals’ flirtation with playoff contention will come to an end.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson came into Sunday’s game against the Bengals on a five-game streak without having multiple touchdown passes in the same game, but he brought that to an end late in the first half.
Jackson hit wide receiver Zay Flowers streaking up the sideline for a 28-yard touchdown that put the Ravens up 14-0 in the final minute of the second quarter. Jackson connected with running back Rasheen Ali for another score and he’s also made some plays with his feet by picking up 26 yards on a pair of runs.
The Bengals got the ball to midfield with seven seconds to play in the half, but Joe Burrow threw an incompletion and was sacked before he could deliver a Hail Mary on the final snap of the half.
Jackson threw an interception before his two touchdown passes and Burrow also got picked off when a high pass to Ja’Marr Chase went off the receiver’s hands. Burrow also lost 15 yards on a third down sack to knock the team out of field goal range on the first Bengals possession, so it’s probably fair to say he hasn’t found the fun that’s eluded him throughout this season.
The Ravens ruled linebacker Teddye Buchanan out with a knee injury while Bengals tight end Noah Fant and wide receiver Charlie Jones are both questionable with ankle injuries.
The Ravens had a tough time getting things going on a frigid day in Cincinnati, but they found their groove in the second quarter.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for 14 yards and hit wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for 32 yards to get the Ravens into Bengals territory and then he beat a blitz by flicking a short pass to running back Rasheen Ali. Ali turned upfield and sprinted into the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown to put Baltimore up 7-0 with less than five minutes to play in the first half.
The Ravens only picked up nine yards on their first two drives and their third ended when Bengals safety Jordan Battle picked off a Jackson pass.
That interception came after a high pass by Joe Burrow to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase went off Chase’s hands and into the mitts of Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, so both teams have been struggling to put it together thus far on Sunday.
The Bengals badly need a win on Sunday, in order to maintain their razor-thin playoff hopes. They have a secret weapon, who really isn’t a secret.
Receiver Ja’Marr Chase averages 115.6 yards per game against the Ravens. That’s the highest average for any player against one opponent, including postseason, in NFL history, with a minimum of 10 games.
On Thanksgiving night, Chase had seven catches for 110 yards against Baltimore, in a loss.
Baltimore’s defense will be able to pay extra attention to Chase today, given that receiver Tee Higgins is out due to a concussion.
If Joe Burrow isn’t having fun playing football today, he won’t be alone. The fans at Cincinnati won’t be having fun when they get to their assigned locations for the game.
The Bengals didn’t remove the snow from the seats. The relevant rule clearly requires them to do so.
From the NFL’s playing field specifications: “Each home club is responsible for having a snow removal plan in place and ensuring that its stadium has adequate snow removal equipment available. Snow and ice must be removed from the stadium before all games. This applies to the playing field, sidelines, seating bowl, aisles, pedestrian ramps, walkways, parking lots, etc. This also applies to the sidelines; snow may not be pushed into piles and remain against stadium walls so that it interferes with standard game or sideline operations.”
The attached photo was taken from the field, before the game. Obviously, no one paid for the seats at Paycor Stadium to be de-snowed.
Said the Bengals, when reached for comment by PFT: “Seat aisles were prioritized and are in good shape. Seats are easily wiped off and ushers are equipped to help there.”
Regardless, the rule says what it says. We’ll see what the NFL has to say about the failure of the Bengals to fully comply with the snow-removal rules.
The Bills will be missing a key defensive piece as they try to keep the Patriots from clinching the AFC East in New England on Sunday.
Cornerback Christian Benford is inactive for the game. Benford was added to the injury report on Thursday with a toe issue and he missed practice on Friday before being listed as questionable.
Benford had a big hand in each of the Bills’ last two wins. He returned a fumble for a touchdown and had an interception to help them beat the Steelers in Week 13 and he returned an interception for the go-ahead score against the Bengals in the fourth quarter last Sunday.
Bills at Patriots
Bills: CB Christian Benford, LB Terrel Bernard, WR Gabe Davis, S Darnell Savage, OL Tylan Grable, DT Phidarian Mathis, OL Chase Lundt
Patriots: LB Bradyn Swinson, OL Marcus Bryant, DT Eric Gregory, TE C.J. Dippre, WR Efton Chism, QB Tommy DeVito
Ravens at Bengals
Ravens: WR Rashod Bateman, CB Keyon Martin, OL Joseph Noteboom, DT Aeneas Peebles, QB Cooper Rush
Bengals: WR Tee Higgins, QB Jake Browning, S PJ Jules, DT Jordan Jefferson
Jets at Jaguars
Jets: QB Tyrod Taylor, QB Justin Fields, WR Tyler Johnson, EDGE Braiden McGregor, DL Mazi Smith, TE Mason Taylor, LB Kiki Mauigoa
Jaguars: LB Yasir Abdullah, OL Walker Little, TE Hunter Long, DL Emmanuel Ogbah, DL Austin Johnson
Chargers at Chiefs
Chargers: WR Quentin Johnston, S Elijah Molden, WR Derius Davis, CB Nikko Reed, LB Kyle Kennard, OL Trey Pipkins, WR Dalevon Campbell
Chiefs: CB Trent McDuffie, WR Hollywood Brown, OT Jawaan Taylor, TE Jared Wiley, G Trey Smith, RB Elijah Mitchell, DT Zacch Pickens
Cardinals at Texans
Cardinals: CB Max Melton, WR Marvin Harrison Jr., S Jalen Thompson, S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, OL Evan Brown, OT Paris Johnson, WR Xavier Weaver
Texans: OL Jarrett Kingston, WR Braxton Berrios, RB Nick Chubb, QB Graham Mertz, CB Ameer Speed, LB E.J. Speed, DE Solomon Byrd
Browns at Bears
Browns: CB Denzel Ward, RB Dylan Sampson, G Zak Zinter, G Wyatt Teller, T Jack Conklin, TE David Njoku, DT Adin Huntington
Bears: QB Tyson Bagent, RB Travis Homer, WR Jahdae Walker, LB Ruben Hyppolite, DE Dominique Robinson, DT Jonathan Ford
Commanders at Giants
Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels, DE Drake Jackson, OL George Fant, CB Jonathan Jones, OL Trenton Scott, RB Chris Rodriguez
Giants: EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux, WR Ryan Miller, P Jamie Gillan, OL James Hudson, WR Gunner Olszewski, DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches, QB Russell Wilson
Raiders at Eagles
Raiders: QB Geno Smith, CB Greedy Vance, RB Zamir White, OL Jordan Meredith, TE Ian Thomas, WR Alex Bachman, DL Leki Fotu
Eagles: LB Josh Uche, QB Sam Howell, CB Mac McWilliams, RB A.J. Dillon, OT Lane Johnson, DT Jalen Carter
If there was any doubt (and there shouldn’t be) that Derrick Henry’s football journey will conclude with a bust in Canton, here’s another reason to requisition the bronze for it.
With 10 rushing touchdowns this season, Henry needs only two more in the final four games for his seventh 12-touchdown season.
Of all the great running backs who have ever played the sport, only one has had seven seasons of twelve or more rushing touchdowns: Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.
Henry is also 291 rushing yards away from leaping Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett for No. 10 on the all-time list, at 12,739 yards. Depending on how long Henry keeps playing, he could still pass Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson (13,259), Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis (13,662), Tomlinson (13,684), and Hall of Famer Curtis Martin (14,101).
Henry needs another 2,471 rushing yards to crash the all-time top five, passing Adrian Peterson at 14,918. It’s a prospect that really isn’t that crazy, given that Henry keeps going strong even as his 32nd birthday is just three weeks away.
From the moment the league office overturned two key fourth-quarter rulings in the Week 14 Steelers-Ravens game, the countdown started for Sunday morning. What would NFL officiating messenger Walt Anderson say, or not say, on NFL Network about the Aaron Rodgers “catch” and the Isaiah Likely “non-catch”?
And, more importantly, would Anderson be given enough time in the four-hour show to address all of the controversial calls from the game, including the unnecessary roughness penalty on a field-goal attempt that the league privately told the Ravens was a mistake?
As to the last question, the answer was no. Despite the importance of the issue to the actual and perceived integrity of the game, Anderson spoke for fewer than two minutes of the 240-minute show, addressing only one of the three very controversial calls from Pittsburgh at Baltimore.
Here’s what he said about the decision to reject the real-time ruling from the on-field officials that Likely had completed the catch process, for what would (should) have been a go-ahead touchdown with 2:47 to play.
“There’s three elements that have to be satisfied,” Anderson said, “Control of the football. And then two steps or a body part. And so he gets control, he takes two steps. What are we now looking for? And the rule is very specific. After those first two, you’ve got to have that third element. And the most common element for receivers that are running is a third step with control of the ball. As you can see here, before that third step gets down, the defender is able to punch the ball out. That’s why the pass is incomplete.”
If we’re only focusing on a third foot as the way to satisfy the third element, Anderson isn’t wrong. The problem is that, as we explained at the time, the replay process has focused on three feet down to the exclusion of the other ways to perform an act common to the game: “extend[ing] the ball forward, . . . tuck[ing] the ball away and turn[ing] upfield, or avoid[ing] or ward[ing] off an opponent.”
Anderson did not address, and was not asked to address, whether Likely had extended the ball forward or warded off an opponent. To overturn the ruling of a touchdown, the replay process requires (as the rules are written) clear and obvious evidence that Likely had done neither of those things.
“We can keep arguing about this for a long time,” Steve Mariucci said after Anderson explained the Likely ruling. “What is a football move?”
And then there was no discussion whatsoever about the other side to the argument. No mention of whether Likely had, or hadn’t, made a football move/act common to the game. More importantly (and more on that in a second), there was no reference to whether Likely had possession of the ball long enough to do so.
Anderson also made no effort to reconcile the replay ruling on the Aaron Rodgers “catch” with the Likely ruling, probably because Anderson and the rest of the league office know that the decisions cannot be reconciled. If Rodgers caught the ball, then Likely did, too.
Anderson instead addressed a play from Thursday night’s Falcons-Buccaneers game. The catch and fumble by Falcons running back Bijan Robinson.
“These plays are very, very similar, except for that third element,” Anderson said. “And so what you can see here is Bijan Robinson gets control of the ball, he gets two steps, and then what he’s able to do, because that left is one, the right is two, the left foot comes down again. That’s the third step, and then he loses the ball. So he’s completed all three elements of the catch process. That’s why this is a catch and in this case a fumble. Had Likely got that third step down while he maintained control of the ball because he was in the end zone, it would have been a touchdown because by rule then the ball would be dead in the end zone.”
Again, they’re focusing only on the third foot and ignoring the rest of the rule, both as to performing an act common to the game and having the time to do so.
Consider this, and watch the Robinson play at full speed, not in slow-motion. If Robinson had possession of the ball long enough to perform an act common to the game (by rule, take a third step among other things), didn’t Likely have possession of the ball long enough to perform an act common to the game?
Even if we ignore the fact that Likely was extending the ball and/or warding off an opponent (and it’s not clear and obvious he wasn’t), Likely had it long enough to, for instance, “tuck the ball away and turn upfield.” But Likely had no reason to do that, because: (1) he was in the end zone; and (2) he was trying to keep the ball away from a defender who was literally attached to his back and trying to knock out the ball.
Here’s the bottom line. Whoever is making the decisions about replay review in the league office (and many throughout the league don’t know who that is at any given moment) has decided to hinge the catch decision on getting three feet down, and to disregard the rest of the rule as it relates to performing an act common to the game, or having enough time to do so.
That’s the inescapable message, both from last week’s ruling and Anderson’s Sunday morning explanation of it. The league office has gone rogue as to the catch rule (and the replay standard), ignoring language that was adopted by a 75-percent supermajority vote of ownership.
At this point, the only way to fix the problem will be for the owners to take control of the situation, if necessary reminding the employees of the league office who writes the checks — and who cashes them.
