Jason Campbell Steelers

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jason Campbell lies on the turf for a while after being hit throwing a pass in the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers November 24, 2013 at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Steelers went on to win the game, 27-11.

(John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer)

BEREA, Ohio -- The NFL admitted Friday that the officials missed a costly blow to Jason Campbell's head by fining Steelers cornerback William Gay $15,750.

Campbell suffered a concussion on the hit and has been ruled out of Sunday's game against the Jaguars, although coach Rob Chudzinski said Friday "he's very close and getting much better.''

Gay's fine was the same one 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks received for his hit on Drew Brees Nov. 17, and Brooks didn't even directly strike Brees in the head like Gay did to Campbell during the Steelers' 27-11 victory over the Browns last week.

Specifically, the league said Gay "unnecessarily delivered a forcible blow to (Campbell's) head and neck area.''

Campbell's head immediately snapped to the side after the hit, and he went to the ground with enough force that the back of his helmet smacked off the frozen earth. The ball also slipped out of his hands. Yet, the officials -- who almost always err on the side of the quarterback -- missed the hit and didn't throw a flag.

Coach Rob Chudzinski argued with the refs, but was told that Campbell was hit in the shoulder, not the head. The referee responsible for watching the quarterback was Terry McAuley.

Offensive coordinator Norv Turner saw the smack to the face right away from up in the coaches' booth.

"I thought he got hit in the facemask right from the beginning, and then obviously you see the replay and it’s really easy to see from all the angles except the one that the referee had – he’s standing behind,'' said Turner. "You'd just like someone to come in and help him make that call. The way it’s being emphasized by the league, it should never be missed. And the ones that they’ve made mistakes on is where they’ve gone too far. so this one obviously they didn’t go far enough.''

Turner would be in favor of making such plays reviewable. Right now, they're not. All turnovers and scoring plays are automatically reviewed, but not possible hits to the head of a quarterback or receiver.

"Right now, if you’re talking about the emphasis they’re making on it and the way people are getting fined, it would be something I would think they would look at and consider the possibility of reviewing that,'' said Turner.

There's no question the blown call drastically changed the course of the game -- and cost the Browns a realistic shot at getting back in the game. In the end, they lost 27-11, but the game was over when the Steelers cashed in big after the non-flag.

Instead of an unnecessary-roughness penalty that would've given the Browns a first and 10 at the Steelers 24, Pittsburgh's Will Allen scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 49 yards to the 4, where he was tackled by Chris Ogbonnaya. A play later, Ben Roethlisberger hit receiver Emmanuel Sanders with a 4-yard TD pass that made it 20-3 with 7:43 left in the third quarter.

Brandon Weeden was forced to take over with the Browns trailing 20-3, instead of down 13-3 and already in field goal range. Even if Weeden didn't move the Browns an inch, kicker Billy Cundiff would've attempted a 42-yard field goal, and had already made a 49-yarder in the first quarter. It was no sure thing, but Cundiff was in the midst of a 12-kick streak that included six field goals of more than 42 yards.

At worst, the score probably would've been 13-6 -- a one-possession game -- with more than seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. At best, Weeden could've hit Jordan Cameron or Josh Gordon with a TD pass to make it 13-10 with a quarter and half to play.

Instead, with the Steelers up 20-3, they pinned their ears back and forced Weeden into catchup mode instead of trying to run a balanced offense.

"This is a game of inches, and those plays make a world of difference when a call’s missed or you miss a play,'' said Kruger. "Anything can happen in a football game.''

Left tackle Joe Thomas would be in favor of such plays being reviewed.

"I know there's two officials that sit in the booth and are watching the game and it would be nice to have them be able to review those type of plays,'' he said. "They're turning out to be as big of a momentum swing, as big of a play in the game, as a turnover or a touchdown and those are automatic because the NFL has said those plays are so important that we need to automatically review them. But a potential 15-yard penalty or a fumble returned for almost a touchdown, that's a humongous play in the game.''

In the case of the Brooks hit on Brees, he was flagged for unnecessary roughness, and the Saints cashed in on the extra 15 yards to kick the game-tying field goal. They went on to kick the game winner as time expired -- to improve to 9-2 and maintain a one-game edge over the Panthers (8-3) in the NFC South.

"Those plays are happening so quickly, especially the helmet to the head area on receivers and stuff,'' said Thomas. "It's almost impossible to tell where the receiver's getting hit because if he's getting hit in the body or the shoulder, his head is going to snap the same way and the difference between a penalty and not a penalty is so small and yet it's such a big play in the game.''

Chudzinski sent a tape of the hit and Campbell's wobbly trip to the sidelines to the league office for clarification.

He's not permitted to share the response, but now we know.

Unfortunately for the Browns, it's too little too late.