Every official in every sport probably doesn’t want the average sports fan to know their name. NFL official Jerome Boger is starting to become a household name due to some recent controversial calls. Boger has been an NFL official since 2004 and was the referee during Super Bowl XLII between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. It is, however, some of the more recent games that he’s becoming known by NFL Fans.
Last season, with Boger as the referee, in the AFC Wild Card Game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders, a whistle was blown before Joe Burrow was attempting to throw the ball before going out of bounds. The pass was completed to Tyler Boyd in the end zone for a touchdown. The officiating crew determined that the touchdown occurred before the whistle despite replays of the play showing otherwise. The Bengals won the game 26-19.
This past week during the Week 5 game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons, with the Buccaneers leading 21-15 in the 4th quarter, Boger called a roughing the passer penalty against Grady Jarrett after he sacked Tom Brady. Boger did confer with other officials and listened to Brady’s pleas for the flag. The roughing the passer penalty allowed the Buccaneers to close out the game. Boger after the game said that Jarrett “unnecessarily” threw Brady to the ground. ESPN NFL Analyst and former player Lance Reddick, called it “a bad look for the NFL”.
Boger was disciplined by the NFL after the Raiders Bengals call and not allowed to referee any other playoff games from a year ago. Time will tell if the NFL acts for the call against the Falcons.
