At the end of the first quarter of Thursday’s Titans-Colts game, Tennessee running back Derrick Henry ran into the teeth of the Indianapolis defensive line for no gain. Or, at least, that’s what happened on the field. Per the clock, time had run out on the Titans, and the play never should have stood.
But that was not satisfactory for official Brad Allen and his crew, who somehow let the play go off. The Colts’ defensive players noticed it, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the FOX Sports booth noticed it, but Allen and his crew? Not so much.
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— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 13, 2020
The NFL immediately put the play at the start of the second quarter in its official live box score, as if we didn’t all just see what happened.
As it turns out, this is the second time in two weeks that Allen’s crew missed out on the whole clock thing. Last Sunday, in Houston’s 27-25 win over Jacksonville, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson hit receiver Will Fuller for a 77-yard touchdown with 6:05 left in the third quarter.
The only problem with that, as Texans analyst John Harris pointed out, is that the game clock ran out several seconds before Watson took the snap.
There’s a good three-second tick after the game clock runs out before Watson gets the ball, and the play should have been a delay of game penalty on the Texans. Houston had third-and-6 from their own 23-yard line on a play that should not have counted, so it’s kind of important in what became a two-point game.
The CBS crew pointed this out right after the play, and Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone was seen ear-holing down judge Danny Short after the play, but to no avail.
Perhaps Allen and his crew should review this outstanding “How to Follow the American Football Game Clock For Dummies” article.