Bears’ 19-14 win over Lions aided by late controversial call..
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on September 12, 2010
Even with 372 yards passing from Jay Cutler & 201 total yards from Matt Forte, the Chicago Bears didn’t seal their 19-14 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon from Soldier Field until an apparent late non-call against Calvin Johnson, who made what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown grab.
With just 31 seconds left in the game and Detroit facing 3rd & 10 from Chicago’s 25-yard line, Shaun Hill threw a pass intended for Calvin Johnson in the end zone.
Johnson caught the ball and appeared to drag his feet so by the time his left knee hit the ground, his left hand was already out of bounds without having full control.
After a lenghty review, the call was overturned as the Lions would go on to throw two straight incomplete passes to end the game.
While Johnson himself was “shocked”, Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz said that the referres made the correct call:
“The rule is if you’re going to the ground in the process of making the catch you need to finish with the football. He didn’t finish with the football. He was (aware) he was trying to come down with it, he had one hand to keep it away from the other guy, he is trying to get his feet down and go to a knee it wasn’t like he was trying to flip it to the official or anything. That’s what it is.”
That wasn’t the only bad thing for Detroit on Sunday, as starting quarterback Matt Stafford got knocked out of the game after a 3rd quarter fumble & could miss anywhere from 2-to-6 weeks with a right shoulder injury.
Lovie Smith also made a questionable call early into the 4th quarter, as he decided to go for it after three straight stops at the 1-yard line following a fumble recovery by Lance Briggs.
Smith explained afterwards that he made the call due to his defense:
“I felt like we were playing great defense and I just didn’t feel good about having three points in that situation. The worst-case scenario would have been for us not to get it and we still had them backed up. It was a field position game throughout. I’d make that call every time.”
The Bears will travel to Arlington, TX for a Week 2 meeting with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, while the Lions will head back to Detroit for their home opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
