The Niner Faithful were understandably upset by a late-game penalty called against San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Trent Taylor during Thursday's 41-39 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
While Taylor had three catches for 32 yards, it was a catch negated by the officials that has gained the most attention. Within the final two minutes of the game, Taylor made what appeared to be a crucial catch, but was called for offensive pass interference.
Below is the play from quarterback Brian Hoyer to Taylor, courtesy of Rob Lowder of Niners Wire.
From this angle, which isn't a good one, that looks like a horrible offensive pass interference call. #LARvsSF pic.twitter.com/d8qRLCEkY4
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) September 22, 2017
The reception would have given the 49ers a first down at the Rams' 39-yard line during what could have been a game-winning drive. Two plays later, on fourth-and-20, Hoyer was sacked by Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald and the 49ers' comeback attempt was over.
On Wednesday morning, Taylor joined the "Murph & Mac" show on KNBR and briefly shared his thoughts on the critical penalty.
"It was a hard one to take," Taylor said. "All that was being said to me in the locker room was, 'Don't mention anything about the refs in the interview.' I mean, I was told that 10 times, at least, because I knew those questions were coming and everybody knew those questions were coming. It was just an unfortunate event and something you've got to learn from, I guess. That's all I can say about it."
You can listen to the entire interview with Taylor below.
Former vice president of officiating Mike Pereira wasn't a fan of the call either. In an article written for the Sacramento Bee, Pereira shared the following thoughts regarding the penalty against Taylor.
"This is the type of play that I used to really not like when I ran the officiating program in the NFL. Why? Because it's a huge call, and I can't really prove whether the official is right or wrong. It's certainly, based on the shot that you got on television, suspect at best. The only replay that was shown was from the middle of the field, looking through the back of the defender, and it's inconclusive. It's surprising to me that there were no other angles that the network was able to show to at least give us a better look."
The TV broadcast showed me two indicators. For one, Taylor, after he caught the pass, actually just got up and went back to the huddle and didn't complain. He didn't complain until the next day, in the media. And secondly, the defender, when he was at the sideline, immediately came up and gave the signal as if he had gotten pushed at the top of the route. But those are just indicators. It doesn't prove whether it happened or not."
Pereira went on to say that the All-22 video released by the league didn't reveal more about the play. All-22 video is shot from a high angle to give a view of all 22 players on the field and the officials. Given that the penalty was declared offensive pass interference, it would be tough to prove that the official was right or wrong, according to Pereira.
Our own Al Sacco and Zain Naqvi shared their thoughts on the call during the latest "No Huddle" podcast episode.
"It frustrates me as a fan that I have to sit and watch these guys play hard for 60 minutes and then a ref decides to call a questionable pass interference call and there's the game – just like that," said Sacco.
"I guess they said he extended his arm to push off," Sacco continued. "It just looked, to me, like he ran his route. And even if he did extend his arm, it was such a little bit. It was a ticky-tack call ... I mean, if somebody gets ripped down and it's pass interference, great. You've got to call it. But if it's questionable, if it can go either way and the game's on the line, to me, you don't call that. You let the players play the game. You let the players determine the outcome."
Naqvi had a very different opinion. He didn't argue that the call was incorrect, but that the 49ers had multiple opportunities earlier in the game to ensure that a bad call at the end would not be the determining factor.
"The very first play of the game, Brian Hoyer threw a pick and that basically gave the Rams seven points," Naqvi said. "Then, later on in the game, when the 49ers scored, I believe, when they got it to within 10, Robbie Gould misses the extra point. To me, that is actually what determined the outcome of the game because if he makes that extra point, the next 49ers touchdown, all they have to do is kick an extra point and they go into overtime. They don't have to go for that next two-point conversion."
You can listen to all of Sacco and Naqvi's thoughts on the 49ers' Week 3 performance below.
