According to FOX Sports, the worst call in the NFL this season was...

[macro]

...a call that will keep the Cincinnati Bengals out of the playoffs this season. I know it's misguided to isolate an entire season down to one play, but without that horrible call, the Bucs don't score and Cincinnati wins 13-7. They enter this weekend at 9-6 and with a playoff spot secured.

Then again, we can all name plenty of situations where the Bengals shot themselves in the foot, so the ultimate blame for the way the season has turned out lies with themselves.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6305088

1. Oct. 15, Bengals at Buccaneers

And the winner for worst call of the NFL season is ... Mike Carey's indefensible roughing-the-passer penalty on the Bengals' Justin Smith that cost Cincinnati its game at Tampa Bay. With the Bengals leading 13-7 and time winding down, Smith sacked Bucs QB Bruce Gradkowski and forced a fumble that was recovered by Robert Geathers. Ball game. Now obviously this couldn't be roughing the passer because Gradkowski still had the ball. Or could it? Carey ruled that Smith had not been appropriately gentle with the quarterback, awarded Tampa Bay the standard gift set — 15 yards, automatic first down — and the Bucs scored late to win, 14-13. The call led Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis to lament, "I guess you have to cuddle him to the ground."
Indeed. Welcome to today's cuddly NFL.

[paintmered]

It was perhaps the worst call I've ever seen (that Oregon/Oklahoma debacle is up there too).

But ultimately the blame for (likely) missing the playoffs rests on the shoulders of the Bengals. They contolled their own destiny and didn't get it done.

[harangatang]

The problem I have with the assumption that Bengals would have been 9-6 is the mindset if they would have had if they would've won the game. They could've been more arrogant and lost more games or more confident and won more. Yet they could be at the same place they are now.

[M2]

I went back and looked at the game log to make sure I understood the complaint here. Sure enough, the game was still 13-7 after the call.

Bad as the call may have been, the Bengals have no one to blame but themselves for that loss. All they had to do was keep the second-worst offense in the NFL out of the endzone to close out a game. If you can't do that then I don't see where you get to claim that you deserve to be in the playoffs.

[guttle11]

I went back and looked at the game log to make sure I understood the complaint here. Sure enough, the game was still 13-7 after the call.

Bad as the call may have been, the Bengals have no one to blame but themselves for that loss. All they had to do was keep the second-worst offense in the NFL out of the endzone to close out a game. If you can't do that then I don't see where you get to claim that you deserve to be in the playoffs.

I don't think anyone would logically argue that point. The call did not make the Bengals play bad against Atlanta or make them blow the SD game. It didn't cause the bad snap on the EP last week.

The point is it was a bad call and it really sent a precedent for the way rest of the crews called roughing the passer.

[RedsBaron]

While the Bengals will have no one to blame but themselves for the failure to make the playoffs, I wish I knew if the NFL took any disciplinary action against Mike Carey for his incompetent call.

[MrCinatit]

If I recall right, the fact the Bengals only had 13 points was a pretty big embarassment - especially against a weak TB defense. Game should not have been that close.
While that play might be a rallying call for "why we didn't make it," we didn't make it because we did not deserve it. The team rolled over way too easily in the face of adversity.
The Bengals remind me too much of the Vikings from a few years ago. A lot of offensive talent, but terrible defensively. Then the off-field problems began taking over...
One can only hope these problems will be seriously addressed during the offseason.

[RedFanAlways1966]

While the Bengals will have no one to blame but themselves for the failure to make the playoffs, I wish I knew if the NFL took any disciplinary action against Mike Carey for his incompetent call.

I have noticed that Mr. Carey has not done a Bengals since that horrible call. Do they set the crews before the season or do you think the NFL has purposely kept him away from the Bengals? I do not care to see him and his yellow flag again.

[gonelong]

All they had to do was keep the second-worst offense in the NFL out of the endzone to close out a game. If you can't do that then I don't see where you get to claim that you deserve to be in the playoffs.

Which is exactly what they did ... the first time.

It was the "do-over" part that got them. Giving the other team possession of the ball, 20+ yards of field position, and a new set of downs once you have stopped them makes it a bit tougher to keep them out of the endzone.

GL

[Dom Heffner]

Bad as the call may have been, the Bengals have no one to blame but themselves for that loss. All they had to do was keep the second-worst offense in the NFL out of the endzone to close out a game. If you can't do that then I don't see where you get to claim that you deserve to be in the playoffs.

See, they did keep the league's second worst offfense from scoring: They sacked the QB, caused the fumble, recovered said fumble and then had that play overturned by a lousy call.

A defensive team should not have to stop an offense over and over again due to officiating.

It's almost as if you are arguing that if a kicker booted a field goal through the uprights to win a game by one point, it would be that team's fault for losing when the official called it no good. They shouldn't have been losing the game to begin with, right?

This "shouldn't be in that position" argument works if the call is early in the game, but when it happens at the end, it's a completely different story.

If were going to talk about positions, why not say this: The Bengals put themselves in a position to win the game and the referee blew a call and caused them to lose the game?

If you are winning by 6 points and you sack the QB and recover his fumble with under 2 minutes to play, I'd say you were in a pretty good position wouldn't you?

[Handofdeath]

If I'm Mike Brown I might seriously consider making a coaching change. He gave control of the franchise to Marvin Lewis and now they have a team full of undisciplined players who are constantly screwing up off the field. If you can't make good decisions off the field how can you make good ones on the field? If a game being won or lost hinges on the outcome of one play then maybe, just maybe you didn't play well enough to win.

[westofyou]

If I'm Mike Brown I might seriously consider making a coaching change.

That approach has worked particularly well for Mr. Brown.

[Handofdeath]

That approach has worked particularly well for Mr. Brown.

It might have worked in the past if he would actually have hired competent people not coordinators from unsuccessful football teams.

[westofyou]

It might have worked in the past if he would actually have hired competent people not coordinators from unsuccessful football teams.

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts.

[Yachtzee]

If I'm Mike Brown I might seriously consider making a coaching change. He gave control of the franchise to Marvin Lewis and now they have a team full of undisciplined players who are constantly screwing up off the field. If you can't make good decisions off the field how can you make good ones on the field? If a game being won or lost hinges on the outcome of one play then maybe, just maybe you didn't play well enough to win.

And yet the Bengals of years past were such pillars of discipline? I'd prefer to wait and see if this year's off-the-field problems are just a case of "when it rains, it pours." Getting rid of a coach who has completely turned around the mindset of the franchise is not very wise, especially when the fanbase has more faith in the coach than it does the owner.