Was this the worst call of Week 3?
It was the third quarter of the Indianapolis Colts-Chicago Bears game, and the Bears had failed to get a third down conversion. Tory Taylor got ready to punt the ball for the Bears, with Tyler Goodson lined up on the punt block team. What happened next is a call that may have been the worst made in Week 3.
With Taylor standing in the end zone, Goodson stretched out to block the punt, and made contact with Taylor. The referees ruled it was roughing the kicker for a 15-yard penalty, giving the Bears the ball back.
Head coach Shane Steichen could be seen contesting the call furiously from the sidelines, arguing heatedly with the referees that Goodson tipped the ball, which would have reversed the penalty, but it was to no avail. The Bears got the ball back. Of course, it ended up being for nothing; Jaylon Jones had his second interception of the game during the next play. So no harm done, right?
Not exactly.
Goodson got his hands on the ball
As Nate Atkins reported for IndyStar, there is indisputable proof now that this was a bad call: Goodson's finger was injured when he tipped the ball.
Goodson's finger is currently sprained, with it wrapped and bandaged to work on the swelling. Fox59 confirmed this injury, which required time spent with the team's medical staff after the game was completed.
The Colts racked up a lot of penalties in this game - much of the what the Bears were able to accomplish was due to penalty yardage given to them by the Colts. The Bears had just four penalties for 25 yards, compared to nine for the Colts and 78 yards. The Bears had more penalty first downs, and more opportunities, that they just overall wasted.
But clearly, this shouldn't have been one of them.