It wasn't just the first week for the teams of the NFL. It was also the first time the referees were working this season and like the players they are sure to get better as they work themselves into form. That's small consolation for Brian Billick and the Baltimore Ravens this morning after a truly awful call cost them a late tying touchdown in Cincinnati and helped contribute to a 27-20 loss. Todd Heap got called for offensive pass interferance in the end zone on a fourth down catch in the end zone to negate the score and for the life of me I can't figure out what he did wrong. Bengals safety Dexter Jackson was holding his jersey, which is defensive PI for those scoring at home, and Heap ran through the hold, made the catch and got his feet down in time before turning to see the flag. The Ravens got another chance when the same official made a holding call on the Bengals on the next play and there's no excusing some poor play-calling from Baltimore on their next three plays. Kyle Boller, in for the injured Steve McNair, was called on to throw twice and his second pass was tipped and intercepted by a diving Michael Myers to secure the Bengals victory. It was the sixth turnover for Baltimore, it wasn't just a bad call that stood in the way of their win, and a great escape for the Bengals. They beat up on a good defense and won a divisional game and regardless of how you get there that's a nice start for the season.
- A less enjoyable game capped the first weekend of NFL action. The 49ers outlasted the Cardinals 20-17 in a sloppy game marked by two disappointing quarterbacks. Alex Smith misfired all night and was 9-for-21 before leading a winning drive in the fourth quarter. He went 6-for-10 on the drive and also scrambled for 25 yards on a key fourth down play to set up Arnaz Battle for an end around and the win. Matt Leinart didn't have any late heroics to bail out a miserable performance. He was picked off on his first and last throws of the night and finished with just 102 yards throwing. The Cardinals went away from Edgerrin James after an effective first half and suffered for it because Leinart couldn't hit anything but the shortest of passes.
(AP Photo/Al Behrman)
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