The Bengals authored a 14-point swing by punching the ball away from Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley and returning it 98 yards for a touchdown.
Along the way, linebacker Markus Bailey got away with shoving Ravens tight end Mark Andrews in the back.
Andrews, trying his damnedest to duplicate the exploits of DK Metcalf chasing down Budda Baker, was closing on Sam Hubbard, who traveled 123.6 yards on the play. Regardless of whether Andrews would have taken Hubbard down, Bailey pushed him from behind.
It looked a lot like the decisive punt return in Jets-Patriots, when Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson Jr. sent Jets special-teamer Justin Hardee sprawling as he tried to catch Marcus Jones. Although the NFL circled the wagons and claimed that the block was legal, the rulebook says that an illegal block occurs when a player “blocks an opponent (from behind) in the back above the opponent’s waist, or uses his hands or arms to push an opponent from behind in a manner that affects his movement, except in close-line play.”
Watch the play. Watch the officials trying (and failing) to keep up with the fact. Bailey puts his hand in the middle of Andrews’ back and shoves. It should have been a foul. Which would have given the Bengals the ball, 10 yards behind the spot of the foul -- roughly, the Baltimore 30.
If the flag had been thrown, the Bengals would have had a first and 10, at approximately the Baltimore 40. In a 17-17 game. Regardless of what would have happened next, it would have been a lot different than a 14-point lightning strike that ultimately provided the final points in the game.