With 12 seconds remaining, the Green Bay Packers gladly let the Cleveland Browns throw a completion to the middle of the field. Why? With no timeouts, it required a perfect operation to get the ball completed, spotted, and spiked to set up a game-winning field goal.
To the Browns' credit, they achieved it, with Andre Szmyt nailing a 55-yard field goal to hand the Packers an embarrassing defeat after a fourth-quarter collapse.
However, upon further inspection, Cleveland can give an assist to the officials.
Refs didn't spot the ball correctly on final play before Browns' winning field goal vs. Packers
So, let's break it down.
Joe Flacco connected with tight end David Njoku for an 8-yard reception with around eight seconds remaining, the clock still winding. Crucially, Njoku went down at the Green Bay 37-yard line. Instead of giving the ball to an official, Njoku raced to his feet and handed it to the center.
The Browns, not the refs, spotted the ball incorrectly at the Packers' 38-yard line. An official ran in, touched the ball, and quickly exited to allow Cleveland to get the snap off.
Credit to the officials for working quickly, sure, but it shouldn't come at the price of not spotting the ball correctly. That one yard made the Browns' field goal a little tougher, but it crucially helped them line up faster.
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It's up to the refs to spot the ball, not the players.
The officials allowed the Browns to place the ball down (incorrectly) and just went along with it. As a result, Flacco spiked the ball with two seconds left, just enough time for the game-winning kick. Had the officials corrected that error, time would've certainly expired.
It's the Packers' fault for ever allowing it to get to that point. In the chaos of that play, it's understandable for the refs to miss one yard. But that doesn't make the decision the correct one.
Of course, if Jordan Love doesn't throw what was effectively a pick-six while leading 10-3, or if the Packers didn't allow their own game-winning field goal attempt to get blocked, we wouldn't be talking about this.
But in a crucial moment with the final seconds ticking away, the refs got it wrong, and it cost the Packers the game. Instead of overtime, Szmyt had time to convert an unlikely game-winner.