1& done: Lions stopped yard short
Tate’ swinning TD overturned; clock runoff ends game
Associated Press
DETROIT — The Falcons held on for a win thanks in part to a rule that went in their favor.
Matthew Stafford’s pass to Golden Tate was ruled to be just short of the end zone in the final seconds after a review, allowing the Falcons to beat the Lions 30- 26 on Sunday at Ford Field.
The call on the field was touchdown when Stafford connected with Tate on a slant from the 1 with eight seconds left, but it was overturned because the receiver was down before the football reached the goal line. By rule, 10 seconds had to run off the clock and that ended the game because the Lions had zero timeouts.
“Had the call on the field been correct initially, the clock would have run out,” FOX analyst Dean Blandino, an ex- NFL officiating chief, explained in a tweet: “That’s the spirit of the rule.”
“Never saw one like that,” Lions safety Glover Quin said.
Lions coach Jim Caldwell agreed that the call was made correctly and the rule was applied properly. He added, though, that Stafford could have taken another snap if the call on the field was made correctly initially that Tate was down inside the 1.
“Certainly,” Caldwell said. “We practice it all the time.”
Cornerback Desmond Trufant, who extended Detroit’s last drive with two penalties, was unaware of the rule that proved to be favorable for the Falcons.
“I thought we were going to have to play another down,” Trufant said.
Trufant was called for pass interference in the end zone on a third- and- 10 from the Atlanta 19, giving the Lions a first down at the 1with 19 seconds left. Trufant was flagged for holding on a second- and- 30 from the Falcons’ 38 earlier in the drive, allowing Detroit to pick up a first down.
Detroit ( 2- 1) never led in the game, and failed to pull off another comeback in the fourth quarter.
“I wish I could’ve gotten us in,” said Stafford, who went 24- for- 45 for 265 yards and one score. “It’s kind of what I do, and didn’t get it done.”
The defending NFC champion Falcons ( 3- 0) overcame Matt Ryan’s three interceptions, breaking a nine- game streak ( including three in the postseason) without throwing one. Ryan finished 24- for- 35 for 294 yards and two touchdowns.
“It comes down to taking care of the football, for sure. We talk about that all the time,” Ryan said. “When you’re minus- 3 in the turnover differential it’s tough to overcome that. We were able to do it today, but that’s certainly something that we have to clean up moving forward.”
Falcons running back Devonta Freeman ran for 106 yards, 35 more than Detroit’s entire team.