NFL: Mike Gesicki’s touchdown should have counted for the Bengals – Patriots

The most significant scene in the Cincinnati Bengals’ loss to the New England Patriots in Week 1 occurred just before halftime.

The Bengals were down 7-0 but within striking distance. Joe Burrow hit Tanner Hudson on the third attempt. He looked like he was going to score, but then a defender ripped the ball away from him. The Patriots recovered and extended their lead to 10-0 by halftime.

On the play before Hudson's fumble, Mike Gesicki caught a touchdown, but it was nullified.

However, Dan Lapham stated on his podcast “In the Trenches” that the league had spoken out and said the decision should not have been overturned.

“When I talk about tight ends, I mean back-to-back games [at the end of the half] Gesicki, he goes into the air, 6'6 against [a] 1.85m [defender]. And you have to give credit to DB for sticking with it. They tried to get it out of there and so on. [Gesicki] falls to the ground and eventually loses control.

“They say, you know, not a touchdown. They deny it. But the league came out today and said, 'It was a touchdown. They shouldn't have voted that out.' And then on the next play, Hudson has a touchdown, he celebrates early, throws the ball out and they knock it away. I mean, as a quarterback, you play quarterback, and you throw a perfect ball and it doesn't work out, and then you throw a perfect ball [to] Hudson, what are you thinking as a quarterback? Like, “Oh my God, what's going on?”

That was a 10-point lead in a game the Bengals trailed for most of. Had it been tied after the first half, who knows how that would have affected plays later in the fourth quarter when they had to shut down a running game that was just getting going.

The loss is still a loss, but it makes you wonder what could have been.