NFL: Refs were right in Patriots-Ravens game

When the New England Patriots improved to 12-0 with a close victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, both teams took issue with the officiating. Apparently the head of the NFL referees thought everything was fine.

NFL senior vice president of officiating Mike Pereira said Thursday that all of the calls that generated controversy were made correctly. Pereira also touched on the topic of Baltimore cornerback Samari Rolle's accusation that head linesman Phil McKinnely repeatedly called him "boy."

Pereira said McKinnely's "interpretation" of the situation differed from Rolle's. He added that he found no fault in how McKinnely handled the controversy.

"Phil, in my mind, acted as he should," Pereira told the NFL Network. "We'd like to walk away, but there is a point where it's very difficult to do that."

After the game, New England quarterback Tom Brady pointed out that there were "a lot of questionable calls and we made some plays" to win the game.

Baltimore running back Willis McGahee echoed Brady's sentiments Sunday.

"The loss takes away everything. We played our hearts out tonight. We got some bogus calls," McGahee said.

Baltimore cornerback Chris McAlister had some harsher words about the referees, specifically the late holding call on rookie safety Jamaine Winborne.

"It's hard to go out there and play the Patriots and the refs at the same time," McAlister said. "They put the crown on top of them, they want them to win. They won."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: ESPN.com