The Detroit Lions Got JOBBED. Here’s why.
I don’t want to dwell on this heart-breaking Detroit Lions loss anymore than I have to, but the ruling at the end of the Lions-Bears game today was so fundamentally wrong that I feel compelled to share my thoughts. For those unfamiliar with the play in question, check out the video below.
Here is the official definition of the rule that negated the touchdown.
“If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.”
The referees believed that Calvin Johnson lost control of the ball when he hit the ground. What they failed to see (and what every Lions fan and most Bears fan agree happened) is that Johnson didn’t lose the ball. He let it go as he was getting up from the ground. This should have been considered a “second action” rather than the end of the initial catch. Of course, if Calvin Johnson had simply kept the ball in his hands when he stood up to celebrate, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all.
I think that the referees interpreted the call incorrectly (though most analysts think it was correct). Still, they were just doing their best to make sense of a stupid rule, so I’m not really upset with them. The problem is with the rule itself. It gives the referees too much discretion to determine whether a player has possession of the ball or not. Possession plus two feet down in bounds should be a touchdown, simple as that.
Last year Green Bay’s Greg Jennings had a TD called off because of the same rule. Obviously, the NFL needs to reexamine it in the off-season.