Joe Burrow, Bengals end playoff drought in a win that put a spotlight (again) on officiating

“Had we been down seven at the end of the game, had they scored there to tie it and we had to go kick a field goal to win it, I promise you my heart rate was as even as can be just because I trust our players.“I knew someone was going to step up and win that game for us.”But the spotlight for much of the game Saturday was cast not on Burrow or Carr — whose errant passes were exacerbated by drops from his receivers, penalties on his offensive line and bizarre gaffes by the Raiders’ special teams — but rather the officiating crew that botched two calls, one of which led to a Bengals score.Jenkins: Tom Brady is telling his own story and doing it at his own paceIn the second quarter, with Cincinnati leading 13-6, a whistle was blown just after Burrow scrambled on third down in the red zone and sailed a pass to wide receiver Tyler Boyd in the back of the end zone. But the play went off, Burrow unleashed a pass to Chase, another flag was thrown behind the line of scrimmage for roughing by Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, and after yet another lengthy conversation on the field, referee Jerome Boger ruled Las Vegas had called a timeout.Cue the boos.Cue the ire from Taylor on the sideline.The one-score game may always lead to fingers pointed toward the officials, but the Raiders were responsible for plenty of their own issues, missing multiple opportunities to overcome the refs’ gift to Cincinnati in the second quarter.And the mistakes started early, with penalties, two sacks on Carr (including a forced fumble) and a strange decision by returner Peyton Barber to pick up the ball on a kickoff as it appeared to roll toward the end zone for a potential touchback.Saving the Raiders from complete despair was their league-worst red-zone defense, which came up with a pair of stops that forced the Bengals to settle for field goals.After Cincinnati’s controversial touchdown in the second quarter, Carr led the Raiders to one of their own, scrambling 20 yards for a first down, finding tight end Darren Waller for another first, then hitting receiver Zay Jones for a 14-yard touchdown up the middle.