The Washington Commanders were unhappy with the officials following Sunday’s 20-12 loss to the New York Giants. The Commanders’ last-ditch effort in the final minute to tie the game fell short but was laminated by two controversial decisions by the officials.
Many will point to the missed pass interference on fourth down involving Curtis Samuel and Darnay Holmes. But a controversial illegal formation penalty negated a Brian Robinson touchdown that would have set up a shot at a game-tying two-point conversion.
Robinson powered into the end zone on third-and-goal from the one-yard line with 1:03 remaining on the clock. However, Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin got flagged for not being lined up on the ball.
The video showed that McLarin looked at the official to see if he lined up correctly, as wide receivers often do. The official appeared to point back at McLaurin, prompting McLaurin to give a thumbs-up to the referee. However, that same official threw the flag against McLaurin.
“I felt like I was on the ball the entire time,” McLaurin said after the game, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. “I checked to see if I was good the first time, and he was like, ‘Move up a little bit.’ So when I moved up, I checked to see if I was good, and he said I was good.”
From his explanation, one can see why McLaurin and the Commanders were not happy with the penalty. Yet, Referee John Hussey said he didn’t witness the interaction between McLaurin and the official.
Jhabvala then asked Hussey if officials are obligated to tell a wide receiver he’s on the line.
“Not typically, and the official could be doing other things, like counting the offense — there’s a multitude of different duties,” Hussey answered. “So, I can’t confirm whether the official even saw that or not. But, [McLaurin] was clearly off the line of scrimmage.”
Could McLaurin have misunderstood the official? It’s possible. What matters most is the flag got thrown. The penalty took Robinson’s touchdown off the board, pushing Washington back to the six-yard line for fourth down and leading to the controversial no-call in the end zone with Samuel.
Hussey explained why no pass interference was called on Holmes on Washington’s final offensive play.
“Pass interference is a judgment call,” Hussey explained. “To the officials, it didn’t rise to what they felt was a restriction. Thus they didn’t call it. That’s basically the bottom line there. It’s a judgment call, and they didn’t believe it was pass interference.”
The Commanders can point to two costly fumbles by Heinicke as well as its offense’s inability to convert on third downs. The Commanders converted just one of 10 third downs for first downs. Yet, the referee’s explanations for two controversial decisions leave the Commanders frustrated at the officiating following a crucial loss.
The Commanders are now 7-6-1 on the season and must navigate through a daunting final three games to get into the playoffs.
