Packers Got ‘Benefit of Doubt’ on Controversial Rulings

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur thought it was a catch. Packers receiver Romeo Doubs, of course, thought it was a catch.

Carolina Panthers receiver Adam Thielen?

Not so much.

“Kind of what you get when you play the Packers,” Thielen, the longtime Minnesota Vikings star, said of Doubs’ controversial catch that set up the winning field in Green Bay’s 33-30 victory on Sunday.

What did Thielen mean?

“Usually, they get the benefit of the doubt on some calls.”

Doubs’ tumbling catch, coming on third-and-4 with the score tied 30-30 with about 2 1/2 minutes to go, withstood a replay challenge. The 36-yard gain to Carolina’s 33, followed moments later by a 20-yard catch by tight end Tucker Kraft, set up Anders Carlson’s game-winning field goal.

But was it a catch?

“I stepped on the ground about three times before the ball even moved so, yeah, it was a catch,” Doubs said.

In a pool report between NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson and Panthers beat writer Joe Person, Anderson said he saw the ball hit the ground “but we also saw that he had control of the ball in his left hand. The left hand never came off the ball and there were no available shots that show that he actually lost control of the ball in his left hand, even though the ball touched the ground. The ball is allowed to touch the ground as long as there’s not evidence that he lost control, and we didn’t think it was clear and obvious that he did.”

The Packers, given how their defense had disintegrated, were lucky that was the ruling.

On third-and-4, the Panthers brought pressure. Running back Patrick Taylor was the unsung hero in stopping the blitz, which gave Jordan Love time. He rainbowed one up the left sideline, with Doubs rising over safety Troy Hill and snaring the ball.

Doubs hit the turf. As he rolled toward the sideline, the ball popped loose. It was an incredibly close call.

“He’s always going to attack the football. He did on that last play,” LaFleur said. “I know it was a tight play and, quite frankly, I think they got it right. I thought there was a time element when you catch that ball that you’re on the ground that certainly satisfied it. I know it was a tough call, but I do think they got it right.”

Tell that to interim Panthers coach Chris Tabor.

“Saw that the ball got bobbled,” Tabor said.

Or cornerback Jaycee Horn: “I think it was a drop. That’s it. I thought it was a drop.”

Thielen broke the play down from a receiver’s perspective.

“I saw the whole play,” he said. “I saw a catch, and then ball moving. As he's going to the ground, ball moves, controls it again, hits the ground, and then loses it again. So, in my opinion, the ball moved twice and two different times. So, there really wasn't enough time to control the ball. They say, control and then a football move; there was no football move. And then he rolls out of bounds.”

The big play capped a big day by Doubs. A bit taken for granted at times because of Christian Watson’s big-play ability and the emergence of rookies Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, the Packers needed Doubs to step up with Watson (hamstring) and Reed (toe) inactive and Wicks sitting out the second half with a chest injury.

Doubs caught four passes for 79 yards and broke a four-game streak without a touchdown.

His first target came on the opening drive and resulted in pass interference that set up the first touchdown. His first catch, a 13-yarder, jump-started a drive that resulted in Carlson’s 53-yard field goal and a 16-10 lead in the second quarter.

A 25-yard catch late in the third quarter set up his 5-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Doubs was wide open on third-and-goal and chucked the ball into the seats after the catch.

“He made some humongous plays for us,” LaFleur said. “I love the energy and passion that he displayed. That was a heck of a throw after he scored that touchdown; threw it up in the second level, I think. I love how he competes.”

His fourth and final catch was the controversial 36-yarder.

“If I make the play, the game (is) over. And I made the play and the game (was) over,” Doubs said.

The game was over. The controversy was not.

The Panthers started at their 25-yard line with 19 seconds and no timeouts. The Packers couldn’t lose so long as they could tackle the Panthers’ receivers inbounds.

They failed on their first attempt.

On first down, Bryce Young hit DJ Chark for 22 yards at the sideline with 13 seconds to go. On the next play, Young hit Thielen for 22 yards but he was tackled in the middle of the field. Young rushed the offense to the line and got the snap with 1 second to go but his spike was deemed to have come after the clock expired.

Tabor “absolutely” thought the Panthers had 1 second left, with which they could have tried a 49-yard field goal to force overtime.

“I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed for those guys in that room. They laid everything out on the line right there,” Tabor said. “We ran out of time. We're getting better. There's no doubt about that. That's evident of how we're playing. I don't like to lose. Nobody likes to lose. When you're keeping score, you don't like to lose, and we lost, so it hurts at this moment. It hurts because you care, and you care about the guys that you're in battle with and all those things, and I love them to death. It just hurts.”

LaFleur, naturally, saw it the other way – a decision confirmed by Anderson’s crew in New York – after his team escaped with a season-saving victory.

“I thought they snapped the ball with 1 second and it’s going to take a second,” he said. “He definitely got the snap off but the play takes a second, so I thought it was the correct decision.”

Packers-Panthers Pool Report

Question: Two plays, the first one being the Carolina challenge on the Green Bay catch by 87 along the Carolina sideline. Looking at that just on the FOX replays, the ball ended up on the ground, on the turf next to 87. For what it’s worth, Dean Blandino said it should have been overturned. What did you guys see on the replay review?

Anderson: “The ruling on the field, obviously, is where we start. It was a catch and the receiver maintained control throughout the process as he was going to the ground. We actually did see the ball touch the ground, but we also saw that he had control of the ball in his left hand. The left hand never came off the ball and there were no available shots that show that he actually lost control of the ball in his left hand even though the ball touched the ground. The ball is allowed to touch the ground as long as there’s not evidence that he lost control and we didn’t think it was clear and obvious that he did. And since the ruling on the field was a catch, we stayed with the ruling on the field.”

Question: And, did you see at the end of the play that the ball being out of his control on the ground, and if so, how did you kind of come to grips with that?

Anderson: “You mean eventually, right after the process?

Question: No, I mean kind of as he was completing the catch, the ball was out of his control next to him.”

Anderson: “We did not see a view that showed that he lost control of the ball in his left hand until he was actually maybe beginning to get up. At that point, the process was over.”

Question: Okay, thank you. And then secondly, on the final play of the game, Walt, there’s the completed catch, Carolina coming down to try to spike the ball and stop the clock. Why did that play not go up to you guys in New York for review?

Anderson: “There are two parts of the replay rule that are in effect at the end of the game in this situation. Replay can stop the game and restore time only if there are two or more seconds to be added to the game. But, as part of the same rule, we can assist the on field officials. What the officials were doing was they were getting together. What they ruled was that the ball was snapped with one on the clock, but by the time the ball hit the ground, they had zero. And they asked us if we could confirm that and we did confirm that to them, that in fact the clock actually went to zero just as it was leaving the quarterback’s hand, so it was clearly at zero when it hit the ground. And we could confirm that to the crew.”

Question: So, you guys did look at that because that was not communicated on the field here at the stadium?

Anderson: “Yes, because that’s in the replay assistance rule. And so, as the officials were having their conference, they were communicating with us telling us, ‘Here’s what we’re ruling on the field. We’re ruling that the ball was snapped with one but it went to zero before it hit the ground.’ And we could confirm that indeed that was what had occurred.”