“The following situations result in a 10-second game clock runoff if the team in possession of the ball is trailing or the game is tied and the team in possession of the ball has no timeouts remaining in that half. If there are 10 seconds or less left in the half or game, the half or game is ended by such runoff:
Replay reviews in a situation where the clock would not have stopped without the review”
Lifted straight from the NFL rulebook, by definition, the referees made the right call at the end of the Falcons-Lions game at Ford Field.
It just looked ugly.
The Atlanta Falcons fended off the Detroit Lions 30-26 in a battle of 2-0 teams that did not lack controversy at the end.
The Lions thought they had secured another fourth-quarter comeback when Matthew Stafford hit Golden Tate for a go-ahead one-yard touchdown with eight seconds left.
The only problem was that after review, it was concluded that his knee came down short of the goal line.
And the Lions were trailing. They did not have a timeout remaining in the half. There were less than ten seconds left in the half.
The rules meant that the Lions came within about six inches of beating the Falcons, but ultimately, couldn’t get over the line.
Here’s what I took from what can only be described as a surreal finish in the motor city.
The Call
We have to get the elephant in the room out of the way first.
It was an extremely close play. Forgetting the runoff of the clock, Tate was within fractions of a yard of scoring. There are different angles and views of the play that could see a case made on both sides, but I think the conclusive look came here.
The other, possibly justifiable Detroit argument was that if the call of Tate not scoring was originally correct, the Lions might have been able to get another play off.
They would have had to get all 11 players lined back up at the half yard line, the referee would have had to put collect the ball from Tate and put it down, and of course the Lions would have to have had a play call ready for a quick snap. It’s possible they might have done all of this in eight seconds, but it’s tough to know.
Based on everything I saw, I’m going with my gut and saying the referee made the right call. I think.
The good, bad, and ugly Matt Ryan
The reigning MVP threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns in the win, but he also threw threee interceptions. The last two interceptions were strokes of bad luck, where Tevin Coleman and Mohamed Sanu both dropped passes that resulted in INTs. The first one though, was brutal.
Ryan was eyeing up Julio Jones the entire play, and never saw Darius Slay lurking behind him. It was an easy interception for Slay, and he was already in stride when he got the ball to turn it into a pick six.
Despite everything Ryan did right, from a perfectly executed opening drive to responding well from his mistake by leading a scoring drive, a poor interception like that will bring back shades of Matt’s pick-filled 2015 campaign.
The Lions dinked and dunked perfectly...
I can imagine that Detroit fans get frustrated at times watching the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL confined to a lot of short, basic crossing patterns and quick outs, but Matthew Stafford has mastered that offense.
He found a way to fluster the Falcons all day with slants and finding ways to get the ball to speed receivers. Stafford attempted 45 passes today, and didn’t complete a single one for more than 29 yards, and only had three longer than 20, but it worked well for them.
...But they still can't run the ball
The problem with this is that if you can’t establish a run to keep the down and distance manageable. Stafford ended up only finishing 25/45 passing largely due to having to get out of his comfort zone of short throws. As has been the case for years now in Detroit, the Lions look incapable of consistently running the football.
Ameer Abdullah was the lead back, but he mustered up only 47 yards on 14 carries. After that, Matthew Stafford scrambles and five yards from Zach Zenner was their entire running game. Even in a pass happy league, the blatant lack of a ground game really hurt Detroit today.
Injuries obviously hurt both teams
When I say injuries, I’m talking about two specifically. Right tackle Ryan Schraeder for Atlanta, and linebacker Jarrad Davis for the Lions. Backup right tackle Ty Sambrailo had a disastrous game in pass protection, and next to him, right guard Wes Schweitzer wasn’t up to scratch again. Schraeder’s status is unknown for Atlanta’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills next week, but it was obvious how important his presence is.
On the flip side, Detroit’s first round draft pick Jarrad Davis was out today too, and the linebacking corps clearly missed a step. If not for two impressive ball-hawking plays by Darius Slay, things could have been a lot worse for the Detroit defense.
Atlanta's offense still looked great
The Falcons still haven’t sorted out the right side of their offensive line. They made a lot of mental mistakes today in terms of penalties. On two separate occasions, a receiver dropped a pass from Matt Ryan, and that drop fell straight into the arms of a Detroit defender for an interception.
And despite all of this, the Falcons still scored 30 points. To put it neatly, this is an elite offense that still won a shootout without playing their best. Devonta Freeman broke the century mark with 106 rushing yards, and Matt Ryan shared the wealth, finding seven different receivers for completions.
The Falcons only punted the ball twice all day, and one of those a 4th and 2 and a 4th and 1 in the final quarter. If things keep improving, punter Matt Bosher might stay on the sideline a lot this season.