The Lions thought they had a last second victory over the Falcons when officials ruled wide receiver Golden Tate got into the end zone with eight seconds left to play in Sunday’s game, but a replay review and the rulebook ensured they’d leave as 30-26 losers.
The replay showed Tate was down just short of the end zone and a league rule calling for a 10-second runoff left no time for another shot at a touchdown. The runoff can be avoided by taking a timeout, but the Lions didn’t have any left after using them to stop the clock on the Falcons’ final possession of the game.
After the game, Lions coach Jim Caldwell said one could make the argument that the ruling was unfair to Detroit, but that “they ruled it correctly and that’s the way it is.” He was also asked if he thought the rule about the runoff should be changed.
“I don’t think so,” Caldwell said, via the Detroit Free Press. “It’s tough to digest all that right now in terms of how it works. We all kind of know exactly what the situation could and would be, and in hindsight we can complain all we want but they administered the rule exactly the way that it’s written.”
Caldwell said the Lions “certainly” could have gotten to the line in time to get a play off if the officials had made the correct ruling in the first place, although that’s a what if that won’t be answered.
