The San Francisco 49ers sealed their 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night with a touchdown in the final three minutes of the game, but it’s a score that probably shouldn’t have counted. 

According to to former NFL referee Terry McAulay, who now works as a rules analyst for NBC, the 49ers should have been flagged for what appeared to be a blatant penalty on the play. With just over two minutes left to play in the game, the 49ers were leading 13-10 and they had a first-and-goal at Atlanta’s 4-yard line. 

On the play, Mac Jones turned around and handed the ball to Christian McCaffrey, who looked like he was going to be stopped, but then multiple teammates pulled him into the end zone. The only problem with that is that it’s illegal to pull your teammates. Let’s check out the play. 

McAulay was asked about the play during the broadcast and he made it clear that No. 75 (Connor Colby) should have been flagged for pulling McCaffrey into the end zone. 

“It’s illegal to lift or pull the runner in any direction,” McAulay said. “This should have been a foul for helping the runner, 10-yard penalty from the spot of the foul.”

If the 49ers would have been penalized, it certainly would have changed the game. The pulled started around the 2-yard line, so that’s where the penalty would have been enforced. If the flag had been thrown, McCaffrey’s score would have been wiped off the board and the 49ers would have faced a first-and-goal from Atlanta’s 12-yard line. 

In that situation, there’s no guarantee the 49ers would have been able to score a touchdown, and if they had been held to a field goal, the Falcons could have gotten the ball back trailing just 16-10. Instead, the 49ers got the score and that pretty much iced the game. 

One reason the 49ers didn’t get flagged is because pulling is a penalty that NFL officials almost never call. According to Football Zebras, the last time a player got penalized for pulling a teammate came all the way back during a playoff game in January 1991, so it’s been almost 35 years. 

This is clearly a foul that’s only going to be called in blatant situations, and McAulay thought this was one situation where the flag should have been thrown. 

McAulay spent 20 seasons as an NFL ref and during that time, he officiated three Super Bowls.Â