The refs blatantly robbed the Buccaneers of a go-ahead fumble return

The NFL’s dismal officiating has been a major focus this season with basic missed calls (and no-calls) impacting the results of games.

That concerning trend continued into Week 8’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans.

With just under four minutes remaining in the game, the Titans — up by four points at the time — lined up for a field goal that would have pushed the lead to seven. Instead of going with the kick, the Titans went with a fake that was sniffed out by the Bucs defense.

Punter Brett Kern took the snap and tried to pick up the first down, but he was lit up by Devin White and clearly lost possession of the ball before touching the ground. The Bucs’ Andrew Adams picked up the loose ball and returned it to the end zone. The problem: The play was called dead.

The ruling on the field was that Kern was down by contact, which negated Adams’ would-be, go-ahead touchdown.

By not even letting the play unfold, the officials took away the ability to get the call right after a possible review. Had Bruce Arians’ challenged the play, the best the Bucs could have gotten was a clear recovery from the spot of the fumble — not even worth doing because the Bucs took over from that spot on a turnover on downs anyway.

Officials are instructed to let the play continue for that very reason.

And again, it was a clear fumble.

The missed call was enough to keep the Titans ahead as the Bucs failed a fourth-down attempt and threw a pick on their subsequent possessions. The Titans would hold on to win, 27-23.