PHILADELPHIA — Officiating in the NFL has been rough this season. But on Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles benefited from an “absolutely terrible” call vs. the Detroit Lions.
The Eagles beat the Lions, 16-9, on Sunday night. But they didn’t win their fourth straight game, improving to 8-2 on the season, without a little help from the refs.
With 1:51 left, the Eagles faced a third-and-8 at their own 37-yard line. If they didn’t get it, they would have had to punt it to the Lions, who would have a chance to go down and tie it up.
Jalen Hurts dropped back to pass, looked to his right and targeted A.J. Brown along the sideline. Hurts’ pass flew high and wide. It appeared as though Detroit would get the ball back with a timeout and time to go down the field. That is, until a flag came in.
The officials called defensive pass interference on Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin. That gave the Birds a first down and effectively ended the game.
NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth reacted the same way Lions fans — and even neutral observers — did.
“Oh, come on,” Collinsworth said on the broadcast. “Come on. That is terrible. That is an absolutely terrible call that’s going to decide this football game.”
Alex Kemp, the head official from Sunday night’s game, was asked by a pool reporter about the defensive pass interference penalty.
“The official observed the receiver’s arm getting grabbed and restricting him from going up to make the catch,” Kemp said. “So, the ball was in the air, there was a grab at the arm, restricted him and he called defensive pass interference.”
There didn’t seem to be much contact from Ya-Sin on Brown.
But hey, Eagles fans will certainly take it.
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