Joe Philbin took the sideline for his first game as the Packers’ interim head coach Sunday against the Falcons. Four plays into his debut, he’d burned two timeouts and every one of his replay challenge attempts.
Packers interim coach Joe Philbin blew through both his challenges 83 seconds into his debut
Philbin’s first game in Green Bay started about as poorly as it could.
The longtime Green Bay assistant and former Miami Dolphins head coach watched as officials ruled against him on back-to-back Julio Jones completions. He challenged a pair of possible incompletions along each sideline, losing both. The end result? 47 yards for Atlanta, two timeouts wasted, and Philbin’s opportunity to challenge any other questionable call the rest of the opportunity was stripped for the final 58+ minutes of the Packers’ Week 14 game.
On the plus side, Philbin can claim he’d done something no other NFL coach ever had in his first game as Green Bay’s head coach.
The crazy thing is, Philbin was probably right to use those challenges
The first came after a contested pass to Jones that rookie cornerback Jaire Alexander was able to defend all the way to the ground, ultimately scooping the ball out of bounds after the All-Pro wide receiver had crashed to the turf.
While it appeared Jones failed to secure the ball before Alexander knocked it out of his grasp, replay officials disagreed. The call on the field stood, Atlanta gained 29 yards, and Philbin lost his first timeout of the afternoon as well as any opportunity to make a third challenge later in the afternoon.
One false start later, Matt Ryan targeted Jones along the sideline again for an iffy play officials ruled a reception on the field, this time for a 19-yard gain. And once again, Philbin launched his challenge flag before the Falcons could snap the ball for a first down play.
This play appeared to be a less obvious call. Jones’ left foot appeared to come down braced against the white stripe of the sideline, but officials ruled he’d been able to drag his toe before sliding off the field and maintained possession of the ball throughout, giving him the requisite two feet down to complete the reception.
That gave Atlanta another first down. Four plays later, Ryan would hit Jones for much less controversial 16-yard touchdown pass that gave the Falcons a 7-0 lead. While Aaron Rodgers was able to lead Green Bay back for an equalizing touchdown on his first drive of the day, there’s a chance the Packers’ lack of challenges could come back and bite the team in a game between two fringe playoff contenders who can’t afford another loss in 2018.
See More:
