The Carolina Panthers had reached the breaking point in their quest to secure the NFC South crown. Their Week 16 home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came with the highest stakes imaginable attached, so the last thing head coach Dave Canales wanted to see was the officials making themselves the center of attention.
It didn't take long for this concerning scenario to surface. It also seemed like the refs couldn't wait to screw the Panthers after an egregious special teams call that could have been a lot worse for the franchise.
Carolina Panthers fell victim to poor officiating, not for the first time this season
After the Panthers' defense recovered from some early jitters to hold the Buccaneers in field goal range midway through the second quarter, veteran defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson was inexplicably called for a personal foul for what was supposedly targeting a defenseless offensive lineman to bolster his leverage in pursuit of blocking the kick.