The expiring game clock wasn’t the only controversial ruling from the officials in this afternoon’s matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers.
Sunday’s 33-30 win for the visitors was propped up by a clutch fourth-quarter catch from wideout Romeo Doubs, a 36-yarder that pushed Green Bay down to Carolina’s 33-yard line. But it wasn’t clear, at least initially, that Doubs completed the process of the grab.
Huge catch Romeo Doubs🔥
pic.twitter.com/haPeEXTRYi— IKE Packers Podcast (@IKE_Packers) December 24, 2023
The Panthers ended up challenging the reception, only to be denied by the official review. But Carolina receiver Adam Thielen, who was positioned right in front of the play, thought otherwise.
“Yeah, I saw the whole play,” the 33-year-old veteran told reporters after the game. “I saw a catch, and then ball moving as he’s going to the ground. Ball moves, controls it again, hits the ground and then loses it again. So, in my opinion, the ball moved twice at two different times. So there really wasn’t enough time to control the ball.”
Nonetheless, the referees believed Doubs did control the rock—which set up the eventual game-winning field goal by kicker Anders Carlson. And Thielen, who’s seen Green Bay plenty of times during his long NFL career, knows how it goes.
“Kind of what you get when you play the Packers.”
