Penalties have always been a controversial part of sports, regardless of the sport itself. Now, football fans might not get quite as mad at referees as baseball fans do at umpires (looking at you, Angel Hernandez), but they’ve made plenty of contentious calls in their time.

A crucial call during the Steelers vs. Colts game today might have cost the Steelers the game in the tight 27-24 finish. Colts wide receiver A.D. Mitchell was rushing to catch a pass from backup QB Joe Flacco late in the 3rd quarter, when he came into hard shoulder-to-shoulder contact from Minkah Fitzpatrick. It was clearly unintentional — Fitzpatrick had been running too fast and had no way to stop. But the refs flagged it for unnecessary roughness and illegal contact to the head.

Asked for comments on the call, Fitzpatrick said, “I thought we were playing football. I don’t know what we’re playing at this point. Very different game than what I grew up loving. Can’t hit nobody hard, can’t be violent, don’t know what to say to you.” A little roughness is intrinsic to the game, of course. Football players get hit, that’s why they’ve got helmets and pads on.

Former NFL official Gene Steratore said the call was unfair. “Minkah’s closing on this play 100 miles per hour and he is pulling up. You gotta play safety that way. He is pulling up. It’s not contact to the head and neck. It’s not a safety play. I just think that’s a football play.” Nevertheless, the Pittsburgh Steelers were given a penalty of 15 yards, putting the Indianapolis Colts at an advantage.

Did the penalty cost the Steelers the game?

It was at the end of the 3rd quarter that the penalty was called, at 17-10. The Colts were already up. Early in the 4th quarter, they pushed the advantage with two third-and-long conversions to push the lead to 24-10. This specific officiating crew, led by Land Clark, has drawn controversy, calling 50 penalties in 3 weeks.

Though the Steelers would rally, scoring a touchdown three minutes later, they just couldn’t catch up. It’s not unfeasible that the Colts would have won anyway, but the penalty gave them massive momentum. With their loss tonight, the Steelers have lost their 3 game winning streak, and are now 3-1.

This leaves the Minnesota Vikings the only team to have played 4 games without loss so far. It remains to be seen whether the Seahawks, Chiefs, and Bills can equal the feat.