The Lions know a thing or two about blown calls. Dan Campbell does, too.
He was an assistant in New Orleans when Nickell Robey-Coleman, then with the Rams, tackled Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis before the ball arrived without receiving a penalty. The Rams beat the Saints to win the NFC Championship Game.
On Sunday, officials missed a delay of game penalty on the Ravens the play before Justin Tucker hit an NFL-record 66-yard field goal for the game-winner.
Campbell knows what comes next — an apology from the NFL office.
“There’s nothing I can say to that, because it’s the same thing,” Campbell said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Tomorrow, you’ll get an apology, and it doesn’t mean anything. That’s life, and that’s the hand we were dealt. We still had an opportunity to — that was fourth-and-long (a few plays earlier), a long way to go, and we gave it up.”
Officials normally give the offense the benefit of the doubt, with the back judge watching the clock hit zero before looking up to see if the ball is snapped. However, former NFL referee Gene Steratore said on the CBS broadcast that it felt “longer than the normal progression.”
Referee Scott Novak added nothing of substance in a pool report, because he said he hadn’t reviewed the play to determine whether back judge Terrence Miles should have thrown a flag.