Fansided

Ball Don’t Lie: 3 worst calls from Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season

By Mark Powell

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER 18: Marcus Maye #6 of the New Orleans Saints argues with Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the field during the second half of the game at Caesars Superdome on September 18, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER 18: Marcus Maye #6 of the New Orleans Saints argues with Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the field during the second half of the game at Caesars Superdome on September 18, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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Mike Evans Bucs Saints
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 18: NFL worst calls Marcus Maye #6 of the New Orleans Saints argues with Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the field during the second half of the game at Caesars Superdome on September 18, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Following one of the strangest opening weeks in NFL history, the officials had to make Week 2 all about them, and they succeeded.

Oh, where to start. You’re familiar enough with the NFL landscape heading into Week 2, but does anything feel real?

Week 1 brought us an upset of the defending AFC Champions (Bengals, courtesy of Pittsburgh), a dominant outing by Patrick Mahomes without his former top weapon in Tyreek Hill and a subpar performance from Aaron Rodgers without Davante Adams. And who could forget the injury to Dak Prescott!

Week 2 flipped a few of those scripts — well, some of them. The Bengals fell to 0-2 and Mahomes is still great (who would’ve thought?). However, Adams struggled, while Rodgers bounced back, and the Cowboys looked a lot better…without Prescott. I’m lost.

3 biggest Week 2 storylines

  • Chiefs defeated the Chargers on Thursday night, proving once again they’re the biggest threat in the AFC West.
  • The Bills dominated the Titans on Monday night, and are arguably the best team in the AFC thanks to Josh Allen and the top offense in football.
  • The Saints and Bucs fought — in this case literally — for NFC South control. Despite Mike Evans suspension, Tom Brady defeated New Orleans for the first time in his abbreviated Tampa Bay career.

Here are the three NFL worst calls from Week 2 — and don’t worry, there were several honorable mentions.

NFL worst calls: Chiefs get a second chance

Patrick Mahomes doesn’t need second chances, but on Thursday he received the benefit of a few calls, one of which allowed him to take back an interception.

Chargers cornerback Bryce Callahan was called for illegal contact on a second-half interception while guarding Travis Kelce. Keeping Kelce in check is a tough enough assignment, let alone when the officials are against you.

Callahan barely made contact with Kelce, but their feet were tangled near the end of the star tight end’s route. This is when Callahan jumped in front of Kelce, thus making an interception on a forced throw by Mahomes — one of his very few mistakes.

https://twitter.com/FTBeard7/status/1570577422105587713

Nope! Called back. Kansas City would score shortly thereafter, and only won the game by three points. Football is a game of inches — when a turnover is wiped off the board due to bad officiating, defeating a player of Mahomes caliber at home is near impossible.

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