Being on the wrong side of a bad call is inevitable in the NFL. There are too many judgment calls, too slim of margins, and, ultimately, humans making the decisions.
Thus, it's probably best to view officiating as a form of luck, like fumbles or injuries. In the long run, the bad calls will even out and help your favorite team win a game.
In the moment, though, it's rather easy to get mad at the officials. And in Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers had every right to get frustrated.
Late in the third quarter, the officials turned an incompletion into a 15-yard gain for Indianapolis when safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was called, erroneously, for an unnecessary roughness penalty. Fitzpatrick hit receiver Adonai Mitchell, with shoulders colliding before both fell to the ground.
On Monday, head coach Mike Tomlin said the league agreed with Pittsburgh's frustration.
"I talked to New York yesterday, they didn't like that call as well," Tomlin said. "But that doesn't help me on a Monday."
The penalty helped push the Colts toward the end zone on a crucial touchdown drive that gave them a two-possession lead. The Steelers were not able to recover.
Unsurprisingly, Fitzpatrick wasn't happy with the call.
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"I thought we were playing football," he said after the game, via Chris Adamski. "This is not the game I grew up playing ... you can't hit anybody."
The loss was Pittsburgh's first of the season. At 3-1, the Steelers will hope for better fortune on Sunday when they host the Dallas Cowboys in the Week 5 nightcap.