The Bengals’ loss to the Ravens ends in controversy as the officials appear to have missed flagrant penalties on a two-point attempt

The Cincinnati Bengals lost a wild 35-34 game to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, and it’s a game that ended in controversy after the officiating team appeared to incur two blatant penalties in the final minute on a key two-point attempt missed.

With 38 seconds left in the game, Joe Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for a 5-yard touchdown that cut Baltimore’s lead to 35-34. The Bengals could have tied the game with an extra point, but instead head coach Zac Taylor decided he wanted to try to put his team ahead by two points.

On the two-point play, Burrow attempted to hit Tanner Hudson, but the pass fell through. No flags were thrown on the play, but there probably should have been two. Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki was grabbed by a Ravens defender in what could easily be described as a defensive hold. On the same play, Burrow was also shot in the head by a Ravens defender.

The rules analyst for “Thursday Night Football” is former NFL referee Terry McAulay, and he said the Ravens should have been called for both penalties.

“It was clearly a defensive hold before the pass went into the air, that should have been called,” McAulay said. “And that actually looks like forceful contact with the quarterback’s head. This is a rough confrontation with the passerby, you should have called it.”

If both penalties had been called, the Bengals could have accepted only one of them and could have replayed their two-point attempt from the 1-yard line. There is of course no guarantee that they would have made it, but due to the missed penalties they had no chance.

Early in the drive, officers also missed another shot in the head of Burrow.

It was an ugly end for Clete Blakeman’s side, who actually did a good job for most of the game.

The failed two-point shot was one of the few low points for Burrow. The Bengals quarterback had a great night, throwing for 428 yards and four touchdowns. Chase too had a historic game with 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

Burrow and Chase almost pulled off a miraculous comeback, but the Bengals failed and now they return to Cincinnati with a record of 4-6.