Tom Brady once again orchestrated an improbable comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have gotten some help from the officiating crew at the end of the game.
The Bucs were leading 31-27 late in the fourth quarter when they turned Atlanta over on downs deep in Falcons territory. Tampa Bay needed just one first down to deal the victory, and they picked it up with a very generous spot on Leonard Fournette’s third-down run. Fournette appeared to reach his arm forward after being down well short of the line, but the official who spotted the ball gave him the benefit of the doubt.
One official actually slid the ball forward, presumably because he believed Fournette reached out before his arm hit the turf.
Big Leo DiCaprio energy on the spot pic.twitter.com/NCxCo3K0Ny
— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) December 20, 2020
A bad spot is one thing, but the measurement itself appeared to greatly benefit the Bucs. It looked like the ball was still short even after the generous spot, and the official tilted the stick in the Bucs’ favor.
This measurement gave Tom Brady and the Bucs a first down pic.twitter.com/ygGYmreTsA
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) December 20, 2020
The Falcons will almost certainly want a word with the NFL over that, though they have no one to blame for the loss but themselves. They were leading 24-7 at one point and blew yet another massive lead. As you probably could have predicted, that led to some hilarious Super Bowl meltdown memes.
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have teamed up yet again! Treat yourself or a friend with this great Tampa Fiesta shirt. You can buy it here.
