In the past, seemingly every time an iffy officiating call could go against the Detroit Lions it did. Late in the first half Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, approaching the two-minute warning, the Lions got what looks like a huge break.
It was close, and television replays were inconclusive, but from some perspectives it did look like the Lions snapped the ball just before the clock hit 2:00. But officials blew the play dead, negating what ended up being a pick-6 for the Cardinals. It seemed some players heard the whistle and stopped, while others (Cardinals' defenders most notably) didn't and kept going. So to assume the same result had the play not been blown dead is a reach.
A few plays later, the Lions scored a touchdown to take a 20-7 lead. The Cardinals got a field goal to make the score 20-10 at halftime, but that touchdown would also prove to be the winning margin in the 20-13 victory for Detroit.
Oh the Cardinals just got SCREWED!!
— Sam Monson (@SamMonsonNFL) September 22, 2024
Pick 6 off pressure, officials claimed the 2 minute warning hit first.
Ball clearly snapped before it hit 2.00 pic.twitter.com/l3RcPmyac2
Referee, Dan Campbell offer their perspectives on controversial play
Via Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News, here's referee Brad Rogers' explanation of the play to a pool reporter after the game.
"We have an official that is watching the clock and what he had as a ruling was the clock was at two minutes and the ball was snapped. So, by rule, when the clock is at two minutes, it is then dead. We're not going to let the play get off. We started killing the play by blowing whistles."
"I know the play started, but when we start blowing the whistle, it shuts it down. Some of the players were still going because they couldn't hear our whistles, apparently — so it looks like there's part of the action that's still moving and some of the action is stopping."
Inadvertent or pre-emptive whistles from officials is nothing new. It happens, and this one was close enough to invite multiple opinions and freeze frames that show it both ways.
For his part after the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell acknowledged good fortune but downplayed the idea that his team got a break.
"I mean, the whistle was blowing for — I mean, I heard the whistle, like, it felt like a good full second before we even snapped it. I can hear them down there, then I look, and we hadn't snapped it yet, then they snap it. So, I mean, yeah, fortunate, but the whistle had blown well ahead of time."
For once, an iffy officiating call went the Lions' way. That it ended up being an important turn in the game is hindsight brought by a whole half of play that followed, where the teams combined to score three points.