New York, November 18, 2025 — The NFL has issued one of its strongest disciplinary actions in years, suspending the entire officiating crew from Sunday night’s Bears–Vikings matchup. The decision came fewer than 24 hours after a viral clip showed a blatant missed facemask on Chicago RB Travis Homer.
The controversial moment occurred at 8:12 in the third quarter, on a 3rd-and-5 at Minnesota’s 18. RB Travis Homer took a handoff and surged forward, only to have DT
Harrison Redmond grab his facemask and yank it violently twice. Despite standing just two yards away, referee Tra Blake did not throw a flag.
FOX analyst Tom Brady reacted instantly, calling it “the clearest facemask of the year” and expressing disbelief that the officials missed it. The NFL Command Center later confirmed the play should have resulted in
15 yards and an automatic first down.
Instead, the Bears settled for a field goal, giving the Vikings enough momentum to rally and tie the game 17–17. Chicago survived only after Cairo Santos drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired, sealing a 19–17 win.
On Monday morning, the NFL announced that all seven members of officiating crew #5 would be suspended for Weeks 12 and 13. This marks one of the few times in recent history the league has suspended an entire crew for performance failures.
Umpire Carl Paganelli received the harshest criticism internally, with the league citing a “perfect line of sight” that was inexplicably ignored. Referee Tra Blake will also lose roughly $15,000 from a forfeited game check.
Executive VP of Officiating Perry Fewell called the mistake “an unacceptable failure” and ordered the crew into emergency training focused on identifying “clear and obvious fouls.” This is the third reprimand
for Blake’s crew this season.
Social media exploded within minutes of the incident, with #RefsRobbedBears and #BearsTax trending No. 1 nationwide. A clip posted by Jordan Schultz quickly passed three million views, intensifying accusations that officials consistently work against Chicago.
Bears legend Mike Ditka blasted the officiating on 670 The Score, calling the missed facemask “a crime in broad daylight” and praising the NFL for what he described as “delayed justice.”
Head coach Ben Johnson echoed the outrage. He told reporters the mistake was “not just a miss call” but “a direct injustice to Travis and the entire team.” Johnson said the Bears will file a formal report but emphasized the team is now focused on Week 12 versus the Lions.
On the Vikings’ side, head coach Kevin O’Connell remained professional, saying only that the team respected the league’s decision. QB J.J. McCarthy was more blunt, posting on X: “Refs have to be better. This one hurts.”
The incident has reignited calls to make facemask penalties reviewable, similar to roughing the passer. Pro Football Reference data shows the Bears rank second in the NFL in missed penalties this season, adding fuel to the “Bears tax” narrative among fans.
Despite the controversy, Chicago moves to 6–4, continuing its resurgence under Ben Johnson. Their upcoming rivalry matchup against Green Bay now carries even more intensity — and Bears fans are hoping the officials will be
far less “blind” this time.
The Los Angeles Chargers made a last minute NFL trade deadline deal with the New Orleans Saints earlier this month. In a risky, but hopeful move, they acquired a former first-round selection from the black and gold to try to help protect Justin Herbert. So far, he’s not helping fix the issue.
The former Saint offensive lineman headed to the AFC at the trade deadline in exchange for a 2027 sixth-round pick. The Chargers desperately needed offensive line help due to injuries, but that addition of Penning may be doing more harm than good so far. He got his first start with the Chargers in Week 11, at left tackle.
Penning has not played much left tackle since 2023, so this was a bit of a baptism by fire by the Chargers coaching staff. They had seen the struggles of other players at that spot and had to give the newly-acquired former first-round pick a chance. Now, it will be intriguing to see what Penning’s role is going forward. The Saints look a bit smart by simply getting anything in exchange for him at the deadline at this point.
Trading for Fortner wasn’t directly related to the Penning deal, but it did open up the door a bit more. New Orleans acquired Fortner in the Khalen Saunders trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this year. With Erik McCoy now out for the season due to injury, Fortner has stepped in at center and impressed plenty of people so far.
When it comes to pass blocking, Fortner is ranked third at center in the entire NFL by Pro Football Focus (82.7 PFF grade). His 76.7 overall grade ranks 8th in the league. His play has been rather spotless up to this point for Kellen Moore’s team, and that gave them confidence to move on from Penning at the deadline.
Only time will tell if Fortner vies for a starting role past this season, but he has started his Saints tenure by leaving quite the impression. With that, it has made fans a lot more comfortable about the future of the OL for New Orleans.