Getty Image / James Gilbert
We’ve seen some bad officiating in the NFL this season. Hell, we see bad calls every year in the NFL, but during Sunday’s Texans – Jaguars game in London we may have seen the worst penalty call in quite some time.
During the third quarter, Jacksonville defensive end Calais Campbell went to tackle Deshaun Watson, who was going to the ground and went low to try to make the tackle. You could argue that he did in-fact lead with his helmet on the play, but he completely whiffed on the tackle. That didn’t keep the referee for calling him for a personal foul, however.
It’s an absolutely mind-blowing decision by the official, but then again we’re talking about Clete Blakeman here.
You may recall him for butchering the end of the Packers – Lions game a few weeks back completely hand-delivering Green Bay the win after multiple ‘hands to the face’ penalties on Detroit.
His phantom leading with the helmet call on Campbell didn’t have an impact on the game quite like the Lions’ debacle, but it kept the Houston drive going and certainly doesn’t get him off the hook for making such a bad call.
After Campbell was flagged for the personal foul, the Texans drove down to kick a field goal to make it 12-3 before eventually beating the Jaguars 26-3.
The conclusion here is that NFL referees are lost and if your team is playing with Blakeman on the field get ready to be disappointed in one way or another.