Video evidence shows refs ignore blatant penalty that would have favored Browns against 49ers

The Cleveland Browns faced a tough battle in Week 6 as they hosted the undefeated San Francisco 49ers. While it's never easy to face a 5-0 team, the Browns had to do so with P.J. Walker making his first start for the franchise with Deshaun Watson still dealing with a shoulder injury.

They were also without Joel Bitonio, who missed his first game since the 2016 season. The injuries weren't the only thing they were battling either as the refs decided to make things tough on the home crowd as well.

Cleveland was initially called for a terrible penalty, where it was obvious it was San Francisco committing the hold on a special teams play. They also marked them short of the first down on a play that was overturned by replay.

Still, the most egregious had to be a missed facemask call when Ray-Ray McCloud drug Greg Newsome by his grill. Not only was this a whiff, but there was a ref literally watching the play unfold yet he kept his flag in his pocket.

Cleveland fans have felt for a long time that NFL officials have had it out for their team. Oftentimes, such a feeling can be attributed to human error but this one was bad. As were the other two blatant errors by the officials.

Despite the extra help, the 49ers have yet to put the Browns away. Their 10-7 lead went away with an early third-quarter field goal and Brock Purdy just threw a pick to Marin Emerson that even the refs couldn't take away.

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