Bear Digest

Bears fans erupt en masse via social media over MNF officiating

The Bears' 25-24 victory over Washington came with a number of close or controversial calls and Chicago fans didn't miss a chance to lambast the officiating crew about it.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears fans flooded social media with complaints that Jayden Daniels and the Commanders had the officials' backing.
Bears fans flooded social media with complaints that Jayden Daniels and the Commanders had the officials' backing. | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Maybe it's the Bears and night games, or maybe it's just Bears fan paranoia, but Monday night's 25-24 victory over the Washington Commanders stirred up the usual complaints against officiating and then some.

To many Bears fans on social media Monday night, it almost seemed retired official Tony Corrente and his crew were back working a game together and not Alex Moore's crew.

If you don't remember Corrente, then you have a short memory or weren't a Bears fan in 2021 when Justin Fields had a huge night in Pittsburgh and Corrente and his crew had a huge night flagging the Bears for having a nose hair out of place. At the time, they let the Steelers mug Fields a few times. It was the game when Cassius Marsh got penalized for being hip-checked by Corrente.

A number of things irked Bears fans about the way the game was called, starting with nine penalties for 84 yards but only five for 40 on the Commanders, and the five came after what looked like a few late ticky tack makeup flags to eliminate disparity.

The penalty disparity was almost as bad as watching your average Blackhawks game.

The angry fans' questions about officiating included:

  • A phantom offensive pass interference call on tight end Colston Loveland that wiped out a first down on the Bears' second drive during the first quarter on an 11-yard completion to the Commanders 21-yard line. The penalty helped stop that drive and forced the Bears to accept a field goal.
  • The phantom penalty on Theo Benedet or illegal formation that wiped out an 11-yard Caleb Williams touchdown pass to Rome Odunze and forced the Bears to accept a 41-yard Jake Moody field goal.
  • ·  A phantom facemask on Nahshon Wright.
  • A phantom offsides call on DJ Moore that put the Bears back in a hole inside their 10 late in the game while trailing, helping to force a punt.
  • · A low hit penalty on Jaquan Brisker for hitting Jayden Daniels on his calf. There was no doubt this occurred but it was as the ball was coming out and after Brisker had been blocked down to the ground on the play.
  • ·A hit by the Commanders' Frankie Luvu on Caleb Williams along the sidelines that definitely was legal and vicious, but seemed more Williams fault for not throwing away the ball or simply stepping out of bounds as he tried to extend a play.
  • ·What looked like an incidental Montez Sweat hand making contact with Daniels' helmet after a pass play flagged as personal foul and extending a drive. Every hand to the head is not a penalty, especially when there is no force involved.

To be sure, the officials missed D'Andre Swift reaching out and grabbing a jersey on Williams’ touchdown run in the first half but as the ESPN crew's officiating expert explained, there is no holding if a grabbed shirt did not restrict or affect a play in any way. This appeared to be the case.

As for that announcing crew, when angered Bears fans weren't busy ripping the officials they were going after Troy Aikman, Joe Buck and ESPN's announcing for being one-sided.

If the Bears are going to play in big games like these, they're going to need to get used to hearing announcing that is less slanted in their team's favor and more down the middle.

As for the officiating, they should just realize that even the guys in stripes have a bad night once in a while. And in the case of Corrente's crew in 2021, a really, really, really historically bad night.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.