NFL Admits Officiating Error on Final Play of Packers-Steelers Game
The NFL released a brief statement on Friday, shared by Wes Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Twitter, in reference to the final play of the Green Bay Packers' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday:
“Due to a miscommunication between members of the officiating crew, the game clock was started prematurely on the final play of the game.”
— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) December 28, 2013
With 10 seconds left on the clock, Packers center Evan Dietrich-Smith was prevented from snapping the football by an official until approximately three seconds remained. When Matt Flynn's pass sailed incomplete in the end zone, time had run out.
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Comments (39)
December 28, 2013 at 09:35 am
And Rodgers stated that three seconds were lost prior to the runoff. NFL doesn't address which snafu was "miscommunication" or if the whole deal was. What is striking to me is that I find myself & fellow viewers complaining more about officiating now than when replacements were in attendance. And I say attendance, because they sure weren't watching much at times.
Sorry to be bitter about it.
December 28, 2013 at 10:06 am
It's been a lot of plays were the oficials ,are looking at play they missed the call.no way they need to be investigated.
December 28, 2013 at 10:10 am
Actually, three errors occurred by the refs on the final play.
1. When the ref was trying to set the ball after the run to the 1 yard line, a Steeler player strolled right in the line of the ref. The ref if uobstructed could have set the ball in a couple of seconds. The ref allowing the stroll cost us 3 to 4 seconds. In my opinion, the minute a player obstructs the placement of a ball the clock should be stopped.
2. Should have been 23 seconds on the clock not 20, as that was the time when the illegal procedure occurred.
3. The ref failed to notify our center that the play was live. 7 seconds lost
December 28, 2013 at 10:37 am
So do we now get the win, to bad any of us that have watched football for 55 yrs were screaming at the set.
December 28, 2013 at 10:40 am
The refs blew it. So did the Packers. It was more of the Packer's version of the Keystone Kops. The whole last possession after the long kick off return was botched. --- Blaming everything on injuries & the refs is really, really getting overused.
December 28, 2013 at 10:49 am
yes it isn't like other teams don't have injuries. The Pats lost one of the best d linemen in football, their top receiver, their top running back, their top tight end, their top corner back, their top safety and yet instead of bitching they went out and found a way to win. All their receivers are rookies and two are undrafteds.
Time for pack fans to get over the injury excuse and get on the fact we have a team of guys who played second rate college ball and can't cut it in the NFL.
December 28, 2013 at 03:20 pm
Why would the patriots complain? They have a QB who has two rules written for him (tuck rule and continuation for the knee) and they got a phantom PI call that allowed them to win a game this season. They get more calls than any team out there.
December 28, 2013 at 11:29 am
The whole last possession? GB moved the ball to the 1 yard line in three plays with plenty of time left to run three plays and hopefully score. Nothing botched about that.
Then yes, the Pack provided the catalyst for the confusion with the false start error. However, we all now know that the refs completely botched the events afterward, costing certainly one and possibly two plays (13 seconds should be enough time to run three plays from the six).
What was Flynn supposed to do? Tell the official to let EDS snap the ball? Check the ref, who is standing behind him, to see when he starts the clock, which wouldn't have helped if EDS can't snap? Perhaps Flynn should have conferred with the ref (if the ref would allow it) during the dead ball to insure everyone knew what was going on. That would have been the only way to know for sure. Maybe Flynn made the mistake of assuming the officials knew what they were supposed to do.
PackerAaron
December 28, 2013 at 11:34 am
The league admitted the officials screwed up. Why is this even a debate?
December 28, 2013 at 02:34 pm
If the whole object of this discussion is what are the "Lessons Learned" then the root cause is the "fans" in the end zone area. Yes, the fans are the cause. The whole ref issue wouldn't be there except for the fan noise.
EDS was quoted (I believe the Press Gazette) as saying he couldn't hear the snap count and was late with the snap because of the fans. If you look at the tape you'll see Flynn waving his arms to quiet the fans.
Should EDS and Flynn have had a physical snap count signal? Yes. Could Flynn have been louder because of the crowd noise? Yes.
But you would think home crowd fans know to quiet down when your team has the ball in the red zone. The question is how to educate the fans and when to make or not make noise?
Maybe I'm too old (been watching the Pack since 1960) and cynical, but the idiots that go through the Lambeau gates nowadays have no class at times.
December 28, 2013 at 06:42 pm
You mean the same fans that try to do the wave and scream like idiots even when the jumbotron at Lambeau says "Quiet - offense at work"?
Good luck getting those drunk, uneducated fools to learn a damn thing about football.
December 28, 2013 at 11:38 am
Matty was unable to hit a wide open Jordy on the last play. His fault, not the refs. --- Quick question? --- Do you think GB would have scored with AR at the helm?
Quit with all the excuses. Packer fans are getting a real reputation of crying & whining waaaay too much.
December 28, 2013 at 11:49 am
Expecting the officials to correctly apply the rules is neither whining or crying. Yes, Flynn missed Jordy. If the false start penalty had administered correctly, Flynn would have two more plays to rectify his mistake.
December 28, 2013 at 12:17 pm
You're missing my point. The Pack gave up 38 points to the Steelers. That's why they lost the game. An officiating snafu at the end of the game is just another excuse.
Packer fans continue to perfect the 'art of excuse making'.
December 28, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Now your changing your argument! Start one argument lose it then change it.. classic troll behavior! Go away Troll!
December 28, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Gosh Arlo, I did miss the point you didn't make. Sorry about that.
December 28, 2013 at 02:09 pm
Why would we expect the refs to call the game right. When you have one ref in the cowboy game calling Tramons interception incomplete when we all could see it was clearly a clean catch. The the interference on Quarless which was clearly seen and the guy waves it off. They are making horrid calls and hey I have watched the Pack for over 55 yrs and these refs are clearly making some horrid calls.
December 28, 2013 at 03:27 pm
You'll never convince any of these people that what happens to the Packers happens to all teams. Lousy ref calls happen in all games. It's part of the game. It's always been that way.
December 28, 2013 at 10:46 am
It was probably the snafu of the ref having to tell Flynn, hey stupid the clock is ticking 8,7,6. It was Flynn's job to know that instead of waiting to be told. This guy does not possess the mental part needed for this game. I hope they dump him after this weekend. Time to move on.
December 28, 2013 at 10:54 am
I tend to agree with a comment I heard from a TV analyst who basically said, 'anytime a team gets into the situation like the Packers did, the communication with the coach ends, its really up to the QB and having the ability to know what to do with those seconds that are left.' 'At that point in the game its now all mental'. 'Its decision time and knowing what to do'.
I agree and think Flynn lacks the mental ability to manage a game and a game clock.
PackerAaron
December 28, 2013 at 11:36 am
That's absurd. The umpire wouldn't let the center snap the ball. How in the hell does that equate to Flynn lacking "the mental ability to manage a game"?
December 28, 2013 at 11:57 am
We're fighting a losing battle here Aaron. Obviously Flynn should have been smart enough to run up and take the umpire's hand off the ball while checking to see if the ref correctly started the clock, doing all this in 10 seconds.
December 28, 2013 at 12:27 pm
Yep, the refs screwed up and Flynn threw it to the wrong guy. The bigger issue is why there was a penalty and a 10 second run-off at such a critical point in the game. Reminds me of Darren Colledge. Colledge was notorious for penalties at key moments in big games.
December 28, 2013 at 01:05 pm
2 horrendous penalties cost the Pack. Perry and Lang. It works out in the end, beat Da Bears and it means nothing. At least they didn't lose by 43 points.
December 28, 2013 at 01:10 pm
arlo, morgan mundane, & cow are really Lions' fans. I'd pissed to if I were them. Had the div gift wrapped and caved like a wet sock. Poor devils, all they got for x-mas was another bad season.
December 28, 2013 at 01:57 pm
Almost every weekend this season the NFL has had to admit that there has been some sort of officiating screw up. The problem is that it doesn't do much good after the fact. This is like getting your face stepped on then the person saying I'm sorry.
December 28, 2013 at 02:03 pm
So they screwed up again. We all know it because most of us saw it. This admission doesn't give us a win so who cares? On to the bears. The past is irrelevant now.
December 28, 2013 at 02:24 pm
Guaranteed win tomorrow. The Packed is owed a ton of calls. TY Bears and Lions for sucking.
December 28, 2013 at 04:17 pm
You forgot to thank the Vikes also LOL
December 28, 2013 at 04:31 pm
They always suck
December 28, 2013 at 04:04 pm
Hard to believe how many Packer Fans are digging for excuses. I guess this is what happens when fans aren't used to a 7-7-1 record near the end of a season. Talk about fair weather.
December 28, 2013 at 04:35 pm
Injuries and bad calls aren't excuses, they're reality. Packers wouldn't be 7-7-1 with a healthy Rodgers. With all the back ups, we don't need officials f-ing things up too. By the way, you're a sorry excuse of a fan.
December 28, 2013 at 05:01 pm
He's not a fan... He's a Troll!
December 28, 2013 at 10:20 pm
yup.
December 28, 2013 at 05:16 pm
4 wide receiver set. Nelson, Cobb, Jones, and Boykin. Lacy and Starks. Things are looking up at just the right time. No excuses, well maybe a little rust. Quarless needs to shine too. Gotta have a productive TE.
December 28, 2013 at 05:26 pm
You are right, things look good on the offensive side of the ball. Our atrocious secondary, and Clay and Johnny on the bench, makes this a very important day for our offense. The last 7 weeks the defense has been asked to carry the offense, and they didn't. This week we ask the offense, with a rusty QB, to carry the defense. I believe the threat of AR throwing will open up the running for Lacy and Starks. I think our Packers are going to the playoffs.
December 28, 2013 at 10:21 pm
Also, Cobb was activated. Not that he will play, but he was activated, so there is a chance he will play.
December 28, 2013 at 05:38 pm
And in the end, the playoffs you make are greater than the mistakes you hate. (Sung to the last line of The End by the Beatles )
December 28, 2013 at 08:23 pm
Chuck Barris could make a come back w/ the 'Gong Show' featuring the growing poor officiating.