The Green Bay Packers were able to win in overtime, but the officials at Lambeau Field missed an obvious and egregious delay of game penalty on the first of two touchdowns scored by the New England Patriots during Sunday’s overtime thriller. The play occurred during the third quarter and ended up giving the Patriots the lead.
Buy Packers TicketsThe play clock was on zero for a couple of seconds, but no whistles were blown. After the play was allowed to continue, quarterback Bailey Zappe connected with wide receiver DeVante Parker for a 25-yard touchdown. However, it should have been blown dead and the Patriots assessed a five-yard delay of game penalty.
In fact, replays showed that the playclock reached zero and actually reset to 40 seconds before the Patriots had snapped the ball.
Here’s the replay:
.@baileyzappe04's first NFL touchdown‼️
📺 #NEvsGB on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/6iNXPWGhWd
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 2, 2022
Gene Steratore, the officiating analyst for CBS, was adamant that a delay of game penalty should have been called and the play stopped.
When the play clock is about to expire, there is usually a half or one second delay for officials to blow the whistle because of the mechanics of how the play is officiated. The delay in #NEvsGB exceeded the normal amount of time that you usually see for a flag to be thrown.
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) October 2, 2022
The playclock is not a shot clock, meaning officials have leeway in terms of assessing the foul. The back judge is responsible for watching the playclock and then refocusing on the snap if the clock hits zero, creating a bit of lag time for offenses to get the ball off even after the clock runs out. But this instance was at least two seconds after the clock hit zero.
Perhaps, it is time to revisit this rule and how it is enforced.
The league will likely review the play and determine that a delay of game should have been called. Luckily for the Packers, the missed call didn’t end up costing Matt LaFleur’s team a win on Sunday.
