Brutal penalty costs Ravens dearly in meltdown loss to Raiders

The Baltimore Ravens suffered a brutal, 26-23, meltdown loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

While the Ravens offense stalled out and the defense failed to get timely stops, one brutal, and questionable, pass interference call by the referees badly hurt the Ravens.

With 4:03 left in the game and Baltimore leading 23-16, Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew threw pass on 3rd-and-goal to the end zone to Davante Adams.

The pass was broken up by Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens, but moments later, the referees threw a flag and called Stephens for pass interference.

Replays showed the call was questionable (though not entirely unreasonable to call).

But Ravens fans and analysts noted that the flag was thrown by an official who was far away from the play.

Now facing 1st-and-goal from the 1, Minshew found Adams on a one-year, game-tying touchdown pass on the very next play.

The Ravens then went 3-and-out on the next drive. The Raiders were able to get within field goal range and kick what would be the game-winning field goal with 27 seconds left to play. The Ravens did not answer.

It was undeniably a costly penalty for Baltimore. Add it to an incorrect facemask call on Nnamdi Madubuike on a sack earlier in the fourth quarter (replays showed Madabuike got Minshew's jersey, not facemask), and two penalties hurt Baltimore badly down the stretch.

In Week 1, Ravens fans took issue with the officiating, as referees appeared to make an example out of the Ravens t o police illegal formations . There were other questionable moments in that loss to the Ravens, like referees allowing Chiefs' defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to call a timeout himself.

The Ravens alone are at fault for beginning the season 0-2. But fans could be forgiven for feeling that the Ravens have had a tough whistle to start the season, too.