The Detroit Lions took ownership of two offensive pass interference penalties at the end of Sunday’s 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that wiped out potential game-winning scores.
"We weren't able to close it out. And at the end of the day, that's on us," coach Dan Campbell said, via ESPN. "We did that. We're the ones who put ourselves in that position to where we had to try to score on the last play."
Detroit got gashed by Pittsburgh’s offense, allowing 481 yards, including three touchdowns of 45 yards each. The Steelers’ surge, coupled with a dormant Detroit offense early in the second half, put the home club down 12 two separate times in the fourth quarter.
Following a Chris Boswell missed field goal, Detroit got the ball back with 2:05 remaining, trailing by five. The Lions marched inside the 10, but the penalties wiped out their chances of completing the comeback.
"You can't feel sorry for yourself. It doesn't mean it doesn't sting, it doesn't feel bad," Campbell said. "But we have nobody to blame but ourselves. It's on us. And it's also on us to finish. We've got two to go."
A would-be Amon-Ra St. Brown score with 22 seconds remaining was wiped out by offensive pass interference by rookie Isaac TeSlaa. Four plays later, chaos ensued.
On the final play of the game, a fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line, Jared Goff hit St. Brown short of the goal line. The wideout then flipped the ball backward to the QB, who took it to the end zone. After a lengthy meeting between the refs, it was determined that because St. Brown was called for OPI, the game was over.
Speaking to a pool reporter after the game, referee Carl Cheffers called it a “pretty complex play” because they had to determine if the flip to Goff was a touchdown or not. In the end, the OPI wiped it all out.
"We ruled that it was a backward pass, so the recovering player was able to advance it and that recovering player advanced it for a touchdown. We had to rule on that and then because of the offensive pass interference, it negates the touchdown. Because it is an offensive foul, we do not extend the half. Therefore, there is no score and there is no replay of the down. That’s the way the rule is written," Chaffers said.
For reference, NFL Rule 4, Section 8, Article 2 (b) reads, in part: "If there is a foul by the offense, there shall be no extension of the period. If the foul occurs on the last play of the half, a score by the offense is not counted."
St. Brown didn’t argue with the call that put the Lions' playoff hopes on life support.
"It is what it is, those are the rules, you can't change them. But it never comes down to one play, just because of that play," he said. "We had calls go our way, too, throughout that last drive, so it goes both ways."
The loss was the Lions' first back-to-back defeat since Weeks 3-8, 2022. It was a disastrous time for Campbell’s club. Next Gen Stats gives the Lions just an 8% chance to make the playoffs. Detroit needs to win its final two games -- at Minnesota and at Chicago -- while the Green Bay Packers need to lose their final two tilts -- versus Baltimore and at Minnesota -- for the Lions to make the tournament.