Now Browns Coach Todd Monken Calls Steelers-Ravens Controversy "Fools Gold"

The NFL recently reopened old wounds about the Pittsburgh Steelers' win over the Baltimore Ravens last season in Baltimore. NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent suggested that a controversial call in the contest was wrong. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a pass batted at the line of scrimmage, then caught the pass with a knee down, and then Teddye Buchanan stole the ball. The call was ruled an interception. Replay assist overturned the call and later ruled Rodgers down by contact. The Ravens would go on to lose the game 27-22, but this wouldn't be the only controversial call that went the Steelers' way.

Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely caught a touchdown late in the same game from a pass from Lamar Jackson. Likely caught the ball, took two steps, and then had the ball knocked out by Joey Porter Jr. The play was called a touchdown initially, then replay assist, once again, overruled the call, and ruled it incomplete. The Ravens would get the ball back with roughly a minute left, but Alex Highsmith ended the game with a big-time sack. This game went down as a classic Steelers-Ravens game, but the aforementioned calls sparked the question fans have been wondering for years now: what is a catch?

Former Ravens offensive coordinator and new Cleveland Browns head coach, Todd Monken appeared on the Pro Football Talk show recently at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine where he shared his thoughts on these questionable calls. 

"I moved on the next week because that's life," Monken stated. "Officials make mistakes, I make mistakes, calls, players make mistakes. That's life... That's gonna be the frustrating part of it, the opportunity to fix it, but I don't know how that game would've ended." 

The Ravens, regardless of these calls, had the opportunity to win the game and came up short. They also had no answer for Rodgers who was having easily his best game of the season at the time. Rodgers and DK Metcalf were lighting up Baltimore's defense and the game came down to much more than just two calls. 

"Any one given call certainly could've impacted the end of it, but I try not to go down that road," Monken explained. "I think that's fool's gold. I think that gives you a built-in excuse of why we didn't do things throughout the game better, and throughout the year... We still didn't play well enough when we needed to play well." 

This win put the Steelers in the driver's seat to win the AFC North as they won four of their final five games. This included a win in Week 18 at home against the Ravens for the division title. The Ravens could have clinched the division in the season's last game, but fell short once again to Pittsburgh, thanks to another stellar performance from Rodgers. Baltimore would go on to fire John Harbaugh, the second longest tenured head coach in the NFL at the time, ending a historic coaching rivalry. 

Two months later, Vincent now wishes they could take a second look at those plays. These plays came up often during the season and even the postseason, with the calls being inconsistent. 

Steelers Benefited, But The NFL Needs To Figure This Out

The NFL has had this issue for quite some time now of having inconsistent criteria for a catch. The latest example being in the 2025 AFC Divisional Round when Brandin Cooks caught a deep pass that would have put the Buffalo Bills in position to win the game. Cooks rolled on the ground with Denver Broncos defensive back Ja'Quan McMillian. Cooks had a knee down with possession and McMillian stole the ball. The play was ruled an interception -- almost the direct opposite result of the Rodgers play in Baltimore. 

This cannot keep affecting the outcome of games.

#SteelerNation