Well, Detroit Lions fans, the sting of the playoff loss last weekend to the Dallas Cowboys is only going to get worse, as Adam Schefter revealed today that the NFL admitted to the Lions that they missed a holding call against mammoth defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh on an important fourth-down conversion in the game's final quarter.
"NFL admitted to Lions today that officials missed a hold on Ndamukong Suh on the 4th-down conversion from Tony Romo to Jason Witten with 6 minutes left in the game (after the controversial Brandon Pettigrew play and before the Dallas TD)," Schefter wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon.
"Had holding been called, it would have put Cowboys in 4th and 16 on Detroit side of the field. Dallas would have punted and Detroit still would have the lead."
The NFL's vice president of officiating, Dean Blandino, already admitted Monday that it was a "debatable" decision by the refs to, after a 17-second delay, pick up and overturn the flag thrown on Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitches for pass interference minutes earlier.
"I think it's debatable," Blandino said, per Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. "There was a left hand on (Brandon Pettigrew's) shoulder, but does that significantly hinder the receiver's ability to make the catch? Looking at all the angles, we're not convinced it is or it isn't. I think had the flag not been thrown, I think we still would have debated it.
"I certainly could have supported it if they left the flag down. I would have supported the foul. But I think it's a close judgment call where you have two officials with differing opinions on it."
With Blandino now admitting, per Schefter, that it wasn't the only egregious and possibly game-changing call missed by the officials that night - "One person said that this is 'even worse than the PI call/no call,'" Schefter wrote - Lions fans, players and coaches are left to while away the remainder of this still young offseason with a, no doubt, exceedingly bitter taste in their mouths.
