A garbage defensive holding penalty called on Josh Norman helped the Houston Texans get a win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.
Houston was leading 23-21 with two minutes left and had a 3rd-and-5 at the Washington 37. Deshaun Watson was tackled after scrambling for two yards, which would have put the ball on the 35. Houston could have attempted a 52-yard field goal at that point. Instead, Norman was called for defensive holding that I still haven’t been able to see:
Here is the holding call on Josh Norman on that 3rd down play, giving the Texans a 1st down inside 2 mins. #Redskins pic.twitter.com/IOnXyoKJs5
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) November 18, 2018
The penalty gave Houston a first down, and they ran another minute off the clock.
Kaimi Fairbairn ended up missing a 45-yard field goal to give Washington the ball with 52 seconds left. Because they had so little time left, Washington quarterback Colt McCoy had to spike the ball twice to stop the clock, which cost the Redskins valuable chances to try and move the ball closer for a field goal. They probably could have run plays otherwise.
Washington was only able to move the ball to the 45 and attempted a 63-yard field goal to win the game that fell short.
I’m still wondering where the hold by Norman was. If anything, DeAndre Hopkins should have been called for a penalty for his push-off.
