Panthers HC Dave Canales indicates Week 18 referee blunder is so much worse

The coach revealed that the refs didn't follow protocol on the backward pass.

Dec 29, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers] head coach Dave Canales talks with referee Dave Hawkshaw against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers were subjected to one of the worst officiated games in the NFL all season, perhaps in several years. The flags were wrong, they weren't thrown when necessary, and one mind-boggling call cost the Panthers yards because of a ref's incorrect whistle.

Don't take my word for it, though. The NFL world united around the Panthers while all this was going on. It was an ugly showing, and it might've hurt the Panthers badly in a close loss. And now, head coach Dave Canales has confirmed that the unfathomably bad Rico Dowdle ruling is even wose than we thought.

Dave Canales reveals new layer to ref blunders vs. Panthers

Dec 28, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales looks on against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

On the Rico Dowdle backward pass, what essentially happened was an inadvertent whistle blowing the play dead. It wasn't inadvertent, but because it was a backward pass, the play should have continued.

Because of this, the Panthers should've had the choice to take the result (a six-yard loss) or do it over again. Team reporter David Newton confirmed that Canales was never even given the option.

"Dave Canales says the officials didn’t offer the Panthers the opportunity to re-do the backwards pass play after the errant whistle that the head referee said the team should have gotten."

David Newton on X

Canales didn't need to say this, though, because it's patently obvious. By rule, they should've had the chance to do it over. Had the play been positive, they might have foregone that option, but it wasn't.

So why would any coach accept a six-yard loss that makes it second-and-16? That makes no sense, so everyone in the world already knew that the refs bungled it and didn't properly give Canales the options.

To recap, here's how things went:

• The whistle was incorrectly blown on a backward lateral. Because of this, Rico Dowdle stopped running.
• The referee on the field made the incomplete pass signal.
• The refs discussed and ruled it a backwards later afterward.
• They then incorrectly stated that it went out of bounds. Video replay shows it was nowhere near the boundary.
• They marked the ball at the spot Dowdle stopped, losing six yards.
• The refs did not give Dave Canales the chance to re-attempt the play.

The refs had a really bad day overall, and there were a few more consequential missed calls or incorrect flags that hurt the Panthers shortly thereafter, but this is obviously the pinnacle. It genuinely doesn't get much worse than this.

That proved to be one of several three-point swings that were at least somewhat influenced by the referees. In a two-point loss, that's significant.

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