First, let me point out…the Browns looked like crap for 3 and a half quarters, and woke up almost in time to pull off an upset. They don’t deserve to win today, and they didn’t.
But I saw something during the game that was missed by the refs (and apparently everybody else) that cost the Browns a TD and possibly the game.
With 8 minutes to play, Derek Anderson hit Jamal Lewis with a short pass out of the backfield, which Lewis took all the way to the 1-yard line. Four plays later, the Browns still weren’t in the end zone and turned the ball over to the Redskins without a point.
But I believe Lewis scored on his pass reception. When Lewis got inside the 5, he had a blocker in front of him, Rex Hadnot (#70). Hadnot made a great block to clear the path, but his leg whipped out behind him and tripped Lewis, who fell at the 1-yard line and bounced into the end zone. No Washington player touched Lewis or forced him to the ground. By rules of the NFL, a player is not considered down if he falls on his own or is tripped by his own player (them’s college rules). Lewis’s own player forced his fall, and he should therefore be considered live.
Kevin Shaffer pleaded with the refs that Lewis was in, but it fell upon deaf ears.
Yes, the Browns should have challenged it, but either way, the correct call was not made and the Browns were denied a TD as a result. No, I am not blaming “cheating refs” or anything like that….but I am saying that it was a bad call, and a HUGE one.
I’m looking for video, so if you have seen this, speak up.
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