Raiders vs. Bengals 2012: Officials deterred Raiders comeback attempt

After an unimpressive first half, the Oakland Raiders stepped up their play In the third quarter, scoring 10 points and holding the Cincinnati Bengals on a goal-line stand. It appeared the Raiders might make the game more competitive in the fourth quarter but any momentum Oakland built up disintegrated on questionable calls by the officials.

A drive into Cincinnati territory quickly stalled when the Raiders were called for a penalty for clipping. However, the replay showed that the call was incorrect. Then, the strangest call of the game was made when the Oakland defense forced the ball out of receiver A.J. Green's hands. What the officials decided was unfathomable for Silver And Black Pride:

They said there was an inadvertent whistle which meant the Bengals would have the option of replaying the down. No pass defended to force a punt. No forced fumble called dead at the spot with Raiders getting the ball. No forced fumble and return touchdown. The Bengals failed and simply got a mulligan. Exactly what part of that makes any sense whatsoever? I don't see it.

The Bengals later added a Jermaine Gresham touchdown to ice the game. While its not a certainty that the Raiders would have kept putting up points and playing well on defense, any chance they had seemed to be taken out of their hands.