Golden Tate's near-touchdown and Detroit's resulting loss were correctly called.
That's the word from Alberto Riveron, NFL senior VP of officiating, who appeared on NFL Total Access on Tuesday to review specific calls from Week 3. Riveron broke down the way the play unfolded: first, the catch, possession, contact that would rule him down and the eventual knee, with the ball short of the goal line. Riveron also reiterated the 10-second runoff rule, and why, by rule, the game was over.
Will the ruling, unfortunate for a Lions team that thought it had just scored the go-ahead touchdown with eight seconds left, spur change in the league's rulebook in the future? Riveron left that up to a future competition committee meeting.
"The committee takes a look at not only this play, but a variety of plays, so we will take this play, we'll show it to the committee and then the committee will discuss it again come March or April."
Tate's score, which was overturned upon review (standard for all scoring plays leaguewide), would have given the Lions a 32-30 lead over the Atlanta Falcons with a point-after attempt up next. Instead, it served as the final play, as the 10-second runoff burned the remaining eight seconds of the game, and the Falcons escaped with a 30-26 victory.
The ruling was correct according to the book, but as Riveron implied, it's sure to spark some conversation after 2017 comes to an end.
