This was an utterly bizarre series of events. Packers WR James Jones stretched out to score, and when he went to the turf, the ball came out. The referees ruled it to be a fumble that was recovered by the Vikings.
This play that was a turnover would automatically be reviewed by the officials, but Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy threw his challenge flag anyways; proving Jim Schwartz isn’t the only coach that doesn’t know the rules. This challenge flag was then picked up by Jordy Nelson, and he tried to hide it, because he remembered what had happened on Thanksgiving, unlike McCarthy. The officials ruled that they had already been “buzzed” to review the play before the flag was thrown. Because of this, they said that the Packers would only receive a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and the play would still be reviewed.
To me this was not only confusing, but showed a complete lack of integrity with the rules. Now, the Vikings ended up winning, so it wasn’t a big deal. But, why wasn’t this the ruling for the Lions on Thanksgiving? Or was this a new nuance of the rule that they added to keep the NFL from looking bad again on National Television? Can’t wait until this offseason when the NFL dumps this rule altogether.
[GIF via:@cjzero] [Video: The Big Lead]