There would have been no miracle comeback for the Detroit Lions on Sunday without an overlooked appeal from head coach Jim Caldwell.
According to Peter King of MMQB, Caldwell successfully lobbied referee Ed Hochuli for an extra two seconds after calling timeout with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter. Those two seconds proved to be pivotal to Detroit’s comeback, as Matthew Stafford eventually rallied the Lions into field goal range and stopped the clock with exactly two seconds left in the game. Matt Prater made the ensuing game-tying field goal, and the Lions went on to win in overtime.
“Hey, luckily we got those two seconds,” said receiver Andre Roberts, who caught the pass to set up the game-tying field goal. “If we didn’t, who knows? Maybe we run a different play at the end. I don’t know.”
Per King, Caldwell’s timeout came right around the 1:14 mark in the fourth quarter. The clock didn’t officially stop until 1:11, so Caldwell argued with Hochuli for extra time put on the clock. It worked, and the clock was reset to 1:13.
The Vikings went on to score the go-ahead touchdown with 23 seconds left. But even without a timeout, Stafford was able to complete two passes for 35 yards and get the clock stopped with a spike at two seconds.
Had Detroit’s final drive started with 21 seconds left, it’s likely Stafford’s final pass would have resulted in the clock running out on the Lions. No field goal attempt, no overtime, no win. Credit Caldwell for making sure his team had every second possible to end the game.
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