Report: Officiating crew pulled from Sunday's Colts vs. Steelers game
Pete Morelli’s officiating crew has been pulled from Sunday night’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers after making several errors in last Sunday’s matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, according to Pro Football Talk.
The crew has been reassigned to another game.
This season, the NFL has taken action against several officials for committing in-game errors. Side judge Rob Vernatchi, who is on Morelli’s crew, served a suspension after making a clock error in the Steelers-Chargers game on Oct. 12. Back judge Greg Wilson did not officiate an Oct. 18 game between the Colts and New England Patriots after missing an illegal bat call at the end of a Detroit Lions vs. Seattle Seahawks game on Oct. 5.
Morelli was on the same crew that came under fire after overturning a pass interference call in a Lions-Cowboys game last season.
On Sunday, late penalty flags were thrown against the 49ers for having too many players on the field. The call was discussed at length by the crew trying to asses whether the ball was spotted in the right spot. A four-yard pass by Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer to Larry Fitzgerald was followed with a hurried two-yard gain by Stepfan Taylor. The 49ers argue that a first-and-five situation on their 10-yard line, became second-and-three from the eight-yard line.
