Advertisement

Dan Campbell 'so over' Ravens' 66-yard field goal and delay of game no-call

Ryan Young
·Staff writer
·3 min read

Though he expected an apology from the NFL, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell insisted Friday that he’s “so over” what he saw as a missed delay-of-game call in their last-second loss to the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday.

Campbell said he didn’t ask the league for a written review on the play, but he did speak to officials about it over the phone.

“It’s really a subjective call is really what it came down to,” he said Friday, via the Detroit Free Press. “So I think they’re kind of split on it. Some are — it’s just, you guys have heard the procedure of it and I’ll be honest with you, I don’t even, I’m so over it now. I’m not even [thinking about it].”

Ravens hit 66-yard field goal to beat Lions

Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker broke an NFL record and hit a 66-yard field goal to give the Ravens the 19-17 win. Tucker’s kick bounced off the crossbar before going through the uprights, capping a seven-play drive to hand the Lions their third-straight loss.

Yet on the play before the kick, it looked as if the Ravens should have been called for a delay of game.

On the CBS broadcast, the play clock had expired before the Ravens snapped the ball.

No delay of game was called.

“Yeah, there’s nothing I can say to that,” Campbell said after the game.

“Tomorrow you’ll get an apology [from the NFL], and it doesn’t mean anything. That’s life.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh, however, stood by the call because “there’s always leeway on that.” Harbaugh’s argument sounds like what Campbell was told on the phone by officials this week.

While there was about 1.4 seconds between the clock expiring and the snap on the play, former NFL official Terry McAulay told Yahoo Sports’ Henry Bushnell that such a long delay is longer than officials usually account for.

"There is a built-in delay," McAulay said.

"But, that timeframe is normally around .5 seconds, plus or minus a couple tenths of a second. There really is no situation where it should be more than 1 second."

Now, though, there’s nothing that can be done. The play, and the loss, is behind the Lions.

So arguing or pushing the league for an explanation at this point, Campbell said, is pointless.

"And look, I came from a place [with the New Orleans Saints] where we didn’t have some great calls go our way either and we won a lot of games," he said Friday, via the Detroit Free Press. "I don’t use that as an excuse.

"Man, you make your own luck and we’ll find our luck, cause we’ll earn it and make it happen."