December 16th, 2001 is a day that lives in Cleveland infamy. Now, nearly 19 years later and 900 miles south, history almost repeated itself.
Although the circumstances and eventually the outcome differed, a terribly officiated game against the Jaguars remained the same.
What’s Bottlegate?
Let’s rewind. The Browns were making a late playoff push at 6-6 in Week 14. Cleveland faced an uphill battle, down 15-10 with just over a minute on the clock. On 4th and 2, Quincy Morgan bobbled a reception but picked up three yards before being stopped at the 9-yard line. QB Tim Couch hurried up to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball to stop the clock. A whistle was blown and Terry McAulay announced that the reception by Morgan was under further review.
By NFL rules, it is explicitly stated that a play cannot be reviewed after another down has been played. Ignoring this, the officials overturned the catch as an incomplete pass and awarded the ball on a turnover on downs to Jacksonville. Cleveland went on to lose the game and their already slim playoff chances were diminished. Fans were furious, hurling bottles and garbage onto the field. Thus, the game became known as “The Bottlegate Game”.
Now, this matchup between the Browns and Jaguars wasn’t nearly as important or heated as the Bottlegate game came to be, but it felt reminiscent.
Ugly Wins
The word of the past few weeks for the Browns has been ugly. Their last three games have been played in horrendous Cleveland weather, through heavy rain, sleet, and snow. Cleveland emerged 2-1 in those games, with their tough rushing offense grinding out the opposition. This week, however, Cleveland was graced with sunny skies in Jacksonville.
While this should’ve been an easy win, miscues on offense, questionable coaching, and poor officiating made it anything but easy for the Browns.
The issues with the refs came mostly late in the game, and notably the entire gaffe over whether Cleveland got the first down on a run play by Kareem Hunt. I’m not thrilled Hunt is the team’s 3rd and 4th down back when Chubb was already having a strong game and averages more yards per carry. Regardless, you can be the judge here.
I seriously cannot see how that wasn’t a first down. The refs also failed to remember to give back a timeout on a challenge that was nullified earlier in the game, so the Browns weren’t able to challenge this call. That timeout was returned to them in the series after this one.
Unrelated, but just goes to show you some of the biases NFL officiating has.
Later, there was a controversial penalty stemming from a hit on Jags QB Mike Glennon. Olivier Vernon was flagged with unnecessary roughness and helmet to helmet contact. In all honesty, this call wasn’t terribly bad to me, but dozens of people on Twitter made their opinions known.
Overcoming Adversity
The icing on the cake, to me, was the holding call during Cleveland’s last drive. Up by 2, all the Browns needed to do was get a first down. From that point, they could kneel it out and that’s the game. On a crucial 3rd and 1, Nick Chubb patiently pushed through to easily pick up the first. And sure enough, a late flag was thrown as head official Jerome Boger ambled to midfield. An absolute phantom holding penalty was called. There were numerous missed holding calls on Jacksonville throughout the game. Even though I’m biased, there was no foul committed, and this seemed like a last chance move to screw the Browns.
Fortunately, Mr. Chubb delivered double middle fingers to the referee crew on a third and long screen to ice the game. Cleveland knelt it out and the game came to a close.
The team now owns their best record since 1994, when two no-name guys in Bill Belichick and Nick Saban were calling plays. The Browns sit pretty at 8-3, looking to secure a playoff spot for the first time in 18 years.