The Pittsburgh Steelers dealt with their fair share of controversy during the 2025 season. That even included the final play against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18. Ravens kicker Tyler Loop missed the game-winning field goal, giving the Steelers the win. However, many people later complained that the referees should’ve called a penalty on the Steelers for leverage on that play. It looked like Ben Skowronek pushed off to help himself jump. Former NFL referee Dean Blandino explained why the officials were right not to throw a flag, though.
“I wouldn’t want that called,” Blandino said recently on the 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe podcast. “That happens a lot on field goal block. What you’re really looking for is pushing off to create that height to block the kick. I thought that would have been an incredibly technical call, and that would have been more controversial than anything else.
“So, I was good with that. I know people a lot of times on social media, and obviously, it was a shorter kick, so you’re looking for other reasons why it might have been missed, but I was good with that.”
Blandino hits the nail on the head. A screenshot from the play may show Skowronek putting his hands on players to help him leap upwards. However, if you actually watch the play, you’ll see that Skowronek had already leaped and hit the apex of his jump before that. He didn’t get any lift-off from touching other players.
The NFL defines leverage as “a defensive player jumping or standing on a teammate or opponent to block or attempt to block an opponent’s kick.” As Blandino points out, Skowronek’s hand placement didn’t help him create any height. He was already on his way down at that point.
It’s splitting hairs to complain about that call. Yes, the officiating in that game was bad. The referees made a lot of questionable calls. However, the Ravens shouldn’t have put themselves in that situation. They had chances before that to control the game.
Also, it didn’t look like Skowronek’s presence had any impact on the kick. Loop messed up. That’s all there is to it. While it’s fair to be upset about the results, arguing that Skowronek should’ve been called for leverage now does nothing. It’s a silly argument, and Blandino, who spent years officiating games, makes that even clearer.