Detroit Lions: Why clock wasn’t reset on last play against Falcons

FOX NFL rules analysts Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino explained why the clock was not reset after overturning the Detroit Lions’ game-winning touchdown.

There have been plenty of things to pick about on the Detroit Lions‘ final play against the Atlanta Falcons. Was Golden Tate really down by contact? What about Tate being interfered with before the ball arrive? Shouldn’t the runoff have been enforced from 11 seconds since that is what the broadcast showed at the point Tate was ruled down by contact?

The matter of the clock has seemed to take off as the biggest conspiracy theory, but Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino led off their weekly Last Call segment with the play in question and included an explanation on why there was no reset.

In essence, because the touchdown/no touchdown call was all part of one action, the clock does not get reset. It would have been different if there had been some sort of run after the point of being down since that would mean time running off the clock because of a separate action.

Blandino also notes that it’s a moot point anyway because there were really ten seconds left when Tate was down instead of 11 as the broadcast showed. The play started with 12 seconds, took 2 seconds, leaving ten seconds.

You can listen to the explanation and further discussion of the play in the first part of the video below:

Next: 10 thoughts from Lions' week 3 loss to Falcons

Ultimately no explanation will be satisfying given the review swung the outcome from a Lions win to a Lions loss, but there is nothing in the review process that was anything but the correct administration of the NFL rule book. Whether or not the rules need to change…that can be up for debate.