NFL officials just gave the Raiders 2 extra seconds that the Lions didn’t get vs. Falcons

One of the many controversies surrounding the end of the Detroit Lions’ game with the Atlanta Falcons involved the clock. While the 10-second runoff was the point of most contention, it turned out the be the right call by the book.

But what keen-eyed Lions fans noticed was that Golden Tate appeared to be down with 11 seconds left. Officials, however, determined there was only eight seconds left, and the 10-second runoff ended the game. You be the judge:

There are arguments whether that screenshot is legit, considering the play started with 12 seconds left. However, a legitimate argument could be made that Tate was down with 11 seconds left, meaning after the 10-second runoff the Lions should have had a chance at one more play.

On Thursday Night Football, the Oakland Raiders faced a similar situation. Down six with under 20 seconds to go, Jared Cook caught a ball and appeared to take it into the end zone with just 16 seconds left. However, replay confirmed he was down before crossing the goal line. Because the Raiders didn’t have a timeout left, they also incurred at 10-second runoff.

But something interesting happened during the replay of the touchdown. Officials determined that Cook was down with 18 seconds left. In other words, they added two seconds to the clock, giving Oakland eight seconds left on the clock, not six. After a couple defensive penalties and a few untimed downs, the Raiders ended up scoring the game-winning touchdown with no time on the clock.

Had Golden Tate been awarded the same time adjustment upon replay, the Lions may have been able to get one more play off against the Falcons and could potentially be 4-2 right now instead of 3-3.