The NFL has an officiating problem.
Referee Land Clark and his crew made several questionable calls during a Sunday Night Football showdown between the Denver Broncos and Washington Commanders in Week 13, and they missed multiple would-be penalties.
Of note to the Broncos, quarterback Bo Nix took a direct helmet-to-helmet hit from Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu, a hit that should be a 15-yard penalty, but there was no flag thrown. Fans in Denver were also upset when outside linebacker Nik Bonitto was penalized for pulling an opponent off a one-person pile.
Washington lineman Laremy Tunsil retaliated by shoving Bonitto to the ground, but only Bonitto was flagged. Even NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay noted that he believed Tunsil should have been flagged, not Bonitto.
Don’t see why Nik Bonitto gets flagged here:
pic.twitter.com/WbFXZVVTuI— RG 📷 (@RyanGreeneDNVR) December 1, 2025
Here’s a look at the helmet-to-helmet hit on Nix that wasn’t flagged:
Luvu hits Bo Nix in the helmet. Should this have been roughing the passer? pic.twitter.com/uBwlR4N0gb
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) December 1, 2025
The Commanders were victims of bad calls, too.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota was penalized for intentional grounding after throwing a pass over a receiver’s head (which shouldn’t be ruled a foul).
The NBC SNF crew disagreed with consecutive penalties against the Commanders on the final drive of regulation vs the Broncos.
Rules analyst Terry McAulay: “This is absolutely not (intentional) grounding, guys.” 🏈🦓🎙️ #NFL#SNFpic.twitter.com/lRzZhfqEGG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 1, 2025
Officials also missed when Mariota was tripped by a pass rusher, which should have been a penalty.
There were botched calls across the board on SNF, and it was not an encouraging reflection of the state of officiating in the NFL. In the end, the Broncos ended up winning 27-26 in overtime.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: NFL: Fans weren’t happy with ‘Sunday Night Football’ officiating
