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Detroit — Here’s what I learned bouncing around the Detroit Lions’ locker room following the team’s 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On the contest’s final play, a potential game-winning touchdown was reversed when Amon-Ra St. Brown was flagged for offensive pass interference. That resulted in a pool report with head official Carl Cheffers, who explained why the call was made and why it took so long for the crew to sort out the details.
Question: What was the action that led to an offensive pass interference call on Amon-Ra St. Brown on the final play of the game?
Carl Cheffers: The official who called the foul said that the receiver created separation that gave him an advantage in catching the pass. So, he called pass interference.
Question: There was a lengthy discussion on the field between officials before the final call was announced. What were the officials discussing on the field after the last play?
Cheffers: It is a pretty complex play. We had the original player who had the ball, lose possession of the ball. So, we had to decide if that was a fumble or a (lateral), because, of course, we have restrictions on the recovery of a fumble inside of two minutes. We ruled that it was a backward pass, so the recovering player was able to advance it and that recovering player advanced it for a touchdown. We had to rule on that, and then, because of the offensive pass interference, it negates the touchdown. Because it is an offensive foul, we do not extend the half. Therefore, there is no score, and there is no replay of the down. That’s the way the rule is written.
That’s interesting, because had quarterback Jared Goff crossed the goal line before time expired, the Lions would have received another play. Had they ruled the lateral was a fumble, that would have resulted in a 10-second runoff, which would have also used the remaining time and ended the game.
A more immature player — and there are plenty of NFL receivers who fit the description — might have gone on a tirade after the contest. By contrast, St. Brown was accountable and level-headed about the infraction.
“Look, we had — I think we had a P.I. (defensive pass inference) on them, you know?” St. Brown said, referencing a flag thrown on the Steelers a few plays earlier, on a fourth down, which extended Detroit’s final possession. “I think we got a call, they got a call. If we don’t get that P.I. on Jamo (Jameson Williams), the drive’s over. So, some might say that, at the end of the day, the refs have a job to do, and they’re trying their best to do it. And we have a job to do out there as players, to go make plays. We just didn’t. We didn’t make enough plays today.”
Those comments were echoed by Goff.