NFL fans sound off over referees' foul call against Chargers leading to Broncos TD: "Bullsh*t call"

The Broncos knew that a win over the Chargers tonight on Thursday Night Football in Week 16 would guarantee them a playoff spot for the 2024 NFL season. It would be their first trip to the postseason since they last won the championship in Super Bowl 50.

Denver got going in the first half with three consecutive touchdown drives. The third came from a pass by Bo Nix to wide receiver Devaughn Vele on a second down. The referees threw a flag and signaled an ineligible player downfield. But they picked it up after some discussion with the conclusion being that the Broncos lineman was "engaged" with the Chargers' defender.

So, the touchdown stood and made the score 21-10 in the second quarter. However, it looked on replay as if the initial call was correct. Broadcast referee analyst Terry McAulay concurred as well.

Fans were not happy with the refereeing performance and took to X/Twitter to lambast them for reversing their decision:

The general reaction was one of bafflement as the comments continued to roll in.

Here are some more reactions from fans on X:

"Take away ineligible man down field cuz he was "blocking" have never heard of that rule in my life," one fan said.

"No ineligible man downfield because the player was blocking??? i’ve seen that sh*t called a billion times this year and the player called was engaged in a block… these refs literally just pick and choose what they wanna call lmao," fumed another.

"I honestly didn't know that rule was a thing. Meinerz was definitely downfield, but I didn't know the ineligible man doesn't apply if he's engaged in a block... I dunno about that one. As a Broncos fan, I'll happily take it, but that seemed iffy to me," a Denver supporter sympathized too.

Chargers benefit from a soft call by the referees in second half against the Broncos

If Chargers fans were feeling down because of the decision, it must be said that the Broncos' offense was looking phenomenal throughout the first half. There is no guarantee Bo Nix would not have thrown a touchdown pass on the next down if the play had been called back.

And Los Angeles did benefit from a soft call when they awarded an unnecessary roughness penalty in Justin Herbert's favor, which set up a first-and-goal. Instead of kicking a field goal while down 24-13, it allowed them to score a touchdown to reduce the deficit to five points.