The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Cleveland Browns in London on Sunday, 21-17, thanks to an impressive 80-yard game-winning touchdown drive orchestrated by Carson Wentz. However, there was a missed call in this game that made life tougher on the Vikings.
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings trotted out Will Reichard to attempt a 51-yard field goal that would have tied the game at 17 apiece. The kick was wide right, and looked like it had some funky action on it. That’s because the ball appeared to hit a camera wire.
It went unnoticed at the time, but check out videos of the kick, here:
If this was noticed by the officials, Reichard would have been given another chance to kick. Here’s the language from the NFL rulebook, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:
“[I]f a loose ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam, or any other object, the ball will be dead immediately, and the down will be replayed at the previous spot. In the event the down is replayed, the game clock will be reset to the time remaining when the snap occurred … All penalties will be disregarded, except for personal fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, which will be administered prior to the replaying of the down.”
Florio later reported that the NFL didn’t have a clear view showing the ball hitting the wire.
Since Wentz was able to come through clutch via a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison with 25 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, this officiating mistake did not play a role in the outcome. But it could have resulted in one of the more controversial results of the season.