Following two regrettable errors made by rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers of the Baltimore Ravens during a crucial drive in Sunday’s AFC championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Flowers received a lot of criticism.
After making a 54-yard reception in the third quarter, Flowers made fun of Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. A 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior was assessed for the move. Flowers lost a fumble in the end zone a few plays into the early fourth quarter, right before he crossed the goal line.
The Ravens lost 17–10 as a result of their expensive errors. It seemed as though Flowers was being ridiculed by the NFL in the immediate aftermath.
A video of Flowers’s costly blunder was shared by the league’s account on X, formerly Twitter, along with a seemingly ironic caption. Shortly later, the tweet was removed, but not before witnesses took a screen grab.
The NFL subsequently uploaded the video again, this time tagging Sneed—who had skillfully knocked the ball out of Flowers’s reach—with the statement, “What a play by Sneed to prevent the TD.”
Although it’s unclear how the NFL intended for the initial tweet to be interpreted, some fans perceived it as a satirical jab at the star rookie for the Ravens.
