Watch: “Bullsh*t,” NFL Twitter OUTRAGED over league officials’ failure to review Gabe Davis’ game-changing catch during Bills Vs Vikings
Follow Us
This catch by Gabe Davis was supposed to be ruled as incomplete but the officials failed to review the play.
The matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Buffalo Bills was nothing short of a thriller. The game had us on the edge of our seats throughout and it came down to the wire. The game went into overtime and it was the Vikings that came out on top with the win as they were able to score a field goal to close the game.
However, as fascinating as the game was, it was not one without controversy. The NFL’s poor refereeing was highlighted yet again as the officials failed to review a pivotal play that would have ended the game early and removed the need to go into overtime.
The particular play in question concerns Gabe Davis, the wideout for the Buffalo Bills. With 35 seconds left in regulation, the Bills had just recovered from a fumble by Josh Allen at their 1-yard line. The team was playing with a sense of urgency, as it was a do-or-die moment for them. At this point, Buffalo was down by 30-27, and Josh Allen found Gabe Davis at the Vikings’ 40-yard line.
Gabe Davis made the 20-yard reception with 24 seconds on the clock. The catch was without a doubt an extremely hard one, but there is just one issue with this play. At first glance, it looks like a perfect catch, but once you see the play in slow-motion and review it, one can see that the ball touches the field when Davis hits the ground.
Gabe Davis’ catch set the Bills up for their game-tying field goal:
The replay clearly shows that once Gabe Davis caught the ball, he appeared to have bobbled it when he landed on the field. The football touches the ground before it lands in the wideout’s hands. It was clearly an incomplete pass. However, the referees were impatient and did not care enough to review it.
Given how clutch the moment was, the referees should have opted to review this play, but they decided to overlook it and rule it as a complete pass. The following play witnessed Josh Allen throwing the ball to Isaiah McKenzie, who then put the Bills in field goal range. Buffalo kicked an FG and tied the game, resulting in overtime.
After the game ended, NFL’s Senior VP of Officiating Walt Anderson confirmed that the referees should have opted to review the play and that they will ensure why they did not do so. “It was a significant distance down the field, even though it happens fast and Buffalo hurries to the line of scrimmage for the next play, if the replay official can’t confirm it was a catch on that long of a completed pass, we should stop play to ensure it is a catch..” Anderson stated.
When asked if the play in question would have been held up as a completed pass after subject to review, Anderson had this to say, “It would have been reversed to an incomplete pass because he did not maintain control of the ball after he hit the ground and the ball touched the ground out of bounds.” It is evident that the refs messed up on this call, yet again. It was a good thing that the Vikings won the ball game or else the uproar behind this particular call would have been worse.
Fans were still not satisfied with the NFL’s response and many took to Twitter to criticize the officiating crew’s decisions:
Have to secure the bag.
Look carefully as Davis comes down. The ball makes contact with the floor before it ends up in the receiver’s hands.
Poor play-calling is disheartening, there is nothing that players can do about it and due to the negligence of officials, teams lose games.
That’s the NFL for you folks!
We get that the game had 35 seconds left, but you have to review plays in these situations.
The referees got next-level vision.
The NFL needs to establish some mechanism that holds referees accountable for their calls; it is high time.
It is hard to not root for this Bills squad, but at the same time, we all love an underdog story.
Props to the Vikings for not losing their cool and still coming back and winning this game. The Bills did their best, but at the end of the day, Kirk Cousins balled out and beat the team that in all likelihood will be in the Super Bowl.
Do follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Stay Updated!
Sumedh Joshi
(2238 Articles Published)