All replacement referee mistakes are not created equal. There are some – like the missed block in the back call on Randall Cobb's punt-return touchdown in the Green Bay-San Francisco game – that are bad, but nothing you wouldn't normally see with the regular refs. (Remember, they make just as many ticky-tack and no-calls.)
On a whole other level is stuff like this moment in Sunday night's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos, when the replacement officials called for the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter after a Broncos touchdown but before Peyton Manning and company had a chance to go for a two-point conversion.
As anyone who has watched more than a handful of NFL games knows, if a touchdown is scored before the two-minute warning, the conversion comes first. An extra point or two-point conversion is an extension of the touchdown play. The clock doesn't start. Peyton Manning's twins likely knew this rule, and they're only 17 months old.
Replacement refs are in a tough situation. They're used to officiating games at half the speed in stadiums with fewer fans and fewer television viewers. They were bound to be nervous. But four timeouts? Confusion about basic two-minute warning rules? This is only going to get worse before it gets better.
About Reid and Mike
Reid Cherner has been with USA TODAY since 1982 and written Game On! since March 2008.
He has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.
Michael Hiestand has covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY, tackling the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.
