The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Detroit Lions in overtime on Sunday, and they may have gotten some help from the officials on the final play of the game.
The Seahawks got the ball first in overtime. Geno Smith led his team down the field and hit Tyler Lockett for a 6-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-2 to win the game 37-31. As you can see below, Smith escaped pressure from Lions pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson and bought himself some extra time before finding Lockett.
TYLER LOCKETT FOR THE WIN IN OT! #SEAvsDET pic.twitter.com/diZUktf4Wj
— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2023
It looked like Hutchinson may have been held. Seahawks tackle Jake Curhan was beat on the play and appeared to grab just enough of Hutchinson’s shoulder pad area to allow Smith to escape. You can see a different angle below:
Should this have been called holding against Seattle on their game-winning play? pic.twitter.com/n4zZe2kup6
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) September 17, 2023
Holding could be called on just about any play in the NFL, so it’s hard to fault the officials for letting that go in such a crucial situation. The Lions also benefitted from a terrible call earlier in the game, so both teams had some issues with the officials.
