The Chargers’ loss to the Cardinals on Monday was crushing. It dropped the AFC West squad to 3-3, and these kinds of games are crucial to the playoff picture later in the season.
Late in the Week 7 contest, a few questionable officiating calls contributed to the outcome. After the loss, head coach Jim Harbaugh was clearly upset with how the game was officiated.
“I saw what I saw, but I have no comment about it,” Harbaugh said about Cam Hart’s unnecessary roughness penalty.
The penalty helped Arizona march down the field for a game-winning field goal as time expired. That wasn’t the only controversial call late in the game, either.
On Los Angeles’ final drive, wide receiver Simi Fehoko was held up on a ball that landed in the endzone. After initially throwing a flag, the referees deemed the throw uncatchable and, therefore, picked up the flag.
“They [the refs] were doing the uncatchable sign. We had a double move on, he got grabbed. I’ll let them explain how they officiated that play,” Harbaugh said.
The picked-up flag forced the Chargers to settle for their fifth field goal of the game. A touchdown would have forced the Cardinals to go down the field and score a touchdown as well.
Despite the poor officiating, the Chargers acknowledged their lack of details throughout the contest. It was a game that slipped through their hands for many reasons, but the officiating was frustrating throughout.
