Let’s go back and review the officiating in the first Packer-bear game this year.
1. On the bears’ opening drive, they had 3rd-and-4 from the Packer 31. Cutler scrambled to the 19, and hands-to-the-face was called on Peppers, tacking on more yards and resulting in a bear TD. Peppers never had his hands near Mills’ face, and it was actually Mills who grabbed Peppers in the face. Instead of it being 3rd-and-14 after the hold, the bears took a 7-0 lead.
2. When it was 7-7, Cutler ran for a first down at the Packer 20. Unnecessary roughness was called on Shields, moving the ball to the 10. This was another bad call (the announcers agreed both calls were bad), and the bears got a field goal.
3. The Packers got a first down at the bear 38, and Mundy was called for a blow to the head. This was a bad call, and the refs picked up the flag and said no penalty. The TV announcers talked about it being a bad call, and never said the flag was picked up, resulting in bear fans thinking there was a bad call when there wasn’t.
4. McCarthy argued he called timeout but the refs didn’t give it to him, resulting in a 12-men-on-the-field penalty. This helped the bears get a first down at the Packer 15, and a TD.
5. The Packers had a second-and-one at the bear 37. Nelson was given the first down, but the Packers were short and it should have been third-and-one.
6. In the third quarter, holding was called on the Packers. The announcers said it looked like a bad call. This resulted in a second-and-12, and resulted in a 53-yard field goal instead of a potential touchdown.
7. Up 31-17 in the 4th quarter, the Packers were at the bear 5 and kicked a field goal, but a bad holding call against the bears gave the Packers a first down and eventual touchdown.
Let me quote Hub Arkush, the bears’ analyst, in the Chicago Sun-Times, who did say calls hurt both teams: “The two most bizarre calls were a 5-yard illegal-use-of-hands call on Julius Peppers that should actually have been on Jordan Mills, who was trying to block him, and a 10-yard unnecessary-roughness call on Sam Shields against Jay Cutler.”