Jerome Boger and officials from Raiders-Bengals game not expected to work again in playoffs, per report

The Las Vegas Raiders vs. Cincinnati Bengals Super Wild Card Weekend matchup was a thrilling game that came down to the very last play, but it was also an afternoon that was dominated by embarrassing gaffes from the officiating crew. In fact, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Jerome Boger and his crew are not expected to officiate again this postseason after their performance Saturday.

According to Schefter, the NFL grades their officials after each game, and Boger and his squad aren't expected to receive high marks in their most recent outing. The NFL mixes its officiating crews in the playoffs, which could have led to some of the problems Boger and Co. had. 

The referees' regrettable workday was highlighted by the Bengals touchdown that shouldn't have counted -- a mistake amplified by the fact that Cincy eventually won by exactly seven points. Late in the first half, on third-and-4, quarterback Joe Burrow stepped up in the pocket, rolled right and fired a pass to Tyler Boyd in the back of the end zone for the second touchdown of the game.

Burrow was close to stepping out of bounds, but the officials came together and ruled he was in-bounds, and the result of the play was a touchdown. The problem is, that a clear whistle could be heard while the ball was in the air. Once that whistle is blown, the play should be dead. By rule, a touchdown should not have been awarded to Cincy. 

NFL VP of officiating Walt Anderson said in the postgame pool report that the officials on the field determined the whistle came after Boyd's catch -- which simply is not accurate.  

"We confirmed with the referee and the crew that on that play -- they got together and talked -- they determined that they had a whistle, but that the whistle for them on the field was blown after the receiver caught the ball," said Anderson, via NFL.com. 

The errant whistle was a lowlight, but certainly not the only mistake the crew made. Another mistake occurred early in the third quarter, when Raiders cornerback Casey Hayward noticed his team had 12 men on the field while the officials did not. Hayward tried to call a timeout. The refs didn't acknowledge the timeout and allowed the play to commence. After the play, the refs came together and spoke for over 90 seconds about what happened while boos rained down on them. After all that discussion, they chose to acknowledge the Raiders' first timeout of the second half, and said the play -- which was a big pickup by Ja'Marr Chase that got the Bengals inside the Raiders' 10-yard line -- never happened.

There were 14 total accepted penalties on Saturday, but the officiating crew struggled to control the game as it was happening.