Monday, November 12, 2001
Controversial call goes Jaguars' way
Spikes' penalty makes matters worse
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Bengals trailed 14-13 when Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell threw a deep pass for wide receiver Jimmy Smith.
Bengals cornerback Artrell Hawkins had what appeared to be perfect position inside Smith and played the ball, knocking it to the ALLTEL Stadium grass.
Smith, Jacksonville's leading receiver, reached over Hawkins' back to try to knock the ball away.
One official threw a penalty flag. Then another flag was thrown at the players. Initially, it appeared offensive interference was going to be the call, which would have a 10-yard penalty from the line of scrimmage and would have knocked Jacksonville to its 25-yard line with a first down and 20.
Instead, the officials huddled, and pass interference was called on Hawkins. That gave the Jaguars the ball on the Bengals 27-yard line, but linebacker and defensive captain Takeo Spikes was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, which moved the ball to the 13-yard line.
It was a 62-yard swing.
Two plays later, tailback Stacey Mack ran in from the 2 for a 21-13 lead. And the Bengals, who eventually had almost 100 more yards in offense and controlled the ball for almost four more minutes, were done.
“I didn't turn around right away,” Hawkins said of the play. “By the time I turned around and looked at the ball and tried to get the pick, I felt him grabbing on me. And then we I saw the flag, I knew it was pass interference in favor of us.”
Bengals coach Dick LeBeau said initially he thought the call went his team's way.
“The referee said when he got there, the discussion had been made, and they told him it was defensive pass interference,” LeBeau said. “It was a call that could have gone either way.”
Spikes was flagged after making a comment to an official.
“I told him it was a terrible call, which I think it was,” Spikes said. “Maybe I got cataracts or something. I might need to go get them checked.
“It was a lot of yardage they got just off of mouth. It was my fault. I should have kept my composure.”
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Controversial call goes Jaguars' way
