The Washington Commanders may have a case to be upset with the officials in Sunday’s 20-12 loss to the New York Giants.
The Commanders faced a fourth-and-goal from the six-yard line with 56 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke flung a pass to the end zone for wide receiver Curtis Samuel. However, the ball got knocked down, sealing the Giants’ win.
A closer review reveals a lot of contact between Samuel and Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes. Holmes grabs Samuel throughout the play. He bumps and hooks Samuel across the arm, preventing Samuel from extending for the ball.
No penalty got called on the play. Yet, NBC rules expert Terry McAulay believes a flag should’ve been thrown for pass interference.
“It’s clearly a foul,” McAuley said after the game on NBC’s postgame broadcast. “He grabs his arm, he plays through the back and it’s clearly before the ball gets there. This is defensive pass interference and it really should be called whether it’s the end of the game, the beginning of the game, doesn’t matter; it’s always a foul and should have been called.”
The huge no-call came moments after the officials erased a Brian Robinson Jr. touchdown with just over one minute remaining due to an illegal formation penalty against Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
Washington falls to 7-6-1 on the season, dropping to the seventh and final NFC playoff spot with three weeks remaining. Meanwhile, the Giants improved to 8-5-1 and now hold the tiebreaker with Washington.
It was a game Washington needed. They fell short and now will look to hang on to a playoff spot. Make no bones about it. The Commanders didn’t lose the game because of the officials. But the pass interference no-call seems egregious
