There was a lot of negative reaction to the replacement officials during the first week of the NFL season. Several games around the league had questionable calls, but nothing was as bad as what happened in the Denver-Pittsburgh game on Sunday night.
Steelers Vs. Broncos, Week 1: Mile High Report Talks About Lost Minute
According tot he Mile High report, the officials in the Broncos vs. Steelers game lost nearly a minute of time on the clock in the fourth quarter:
With 10:34 to go in the 4th quarter, Peyton Manning completed a pass to Eric Decker at the one yard line. Decker lost control of the ball, but after he made contact with the ground. The Broncos hurried to the line of scrimmage and actually ran a play - but Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin threw the challenge flag. He was, after the fact, awarded the challenge. The Broncos ran the phantom play at 10:18. While the officials were figuring out whether to grant the challenge, the clock ran down to 9:34.
The play was confirmed to be ruled correctly and the Broncos were given 1st and Goal from the 1. The play-clock should have been reset back to 10:18. It remained at 9:34.
Mile High Report also has video evidence, which most everyone missed at the time. It is not known if this will factor into any decision on the part of the NFL, but it was not the only event that will draw the notice of the league.
For more coverage of this game, be sure to check out Steelers blog Behind the Steel Curtain and Broncos blog Mile High Report. For all your pro football needs, stay tuned to SB Nation's NFL hub.
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