Potential Missed Penalty Mars Last Play of Commanders-Giants

A controversial no-call on fourth-and-goal spelled the end of Washington’s comeback hopes against New York.

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A physical battle between NFC East rivals ended in controversy on Sunday Night Football after the Giants slid past the Commanders for a 20–12 victory at FedEx Field.

Facing fourth-and-goal with 56 seconds left to play in the game, Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke zipped a pass to receiver Curtis Samuel in the end zone with Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes draped over him in coverage. Both players jumped to make a play on the ball but the pass fell incomplete, resulting in the end of the game after the officiating crew determined there wasn’t a penalty despite Holmes appearing to make a lot of contact with Samuel before the pass.

The no-call allowed the Giants to take over and kneel out the rest of the clock to secure a pivotal win, but the conversation surrounding the finish soon focused on the possibility of a missed defensive pass interference that could’ve altered the outcome. After the game, NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay, who was an NFL official for 20 seasons, reviewed the call for the national TV audience, and didn’t hesitate to tell viewers that he believed the officials missed the call.

“It’s clearly a foul,” McAulay said to broadcasters Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth. “He grabs his arm. He plays through the back. It’s clearly before the ball gets there. This is defensive pass interference and it really should be called whether it’s the end of the game, beginning of the game. Doesn’t matter. It’s always a foul and should’ve been called.

“I’ll just say again. If it’s a foul in the first minute of the game, it’s a foul in the last minute of the game. When it’s that obvious, it has to be called.”

Aside from the costly fourth down call, Washington also missed out on another chance to cut into the deficit on the previous play. A flag was thrown on receiver Terry McLaurin for illegal formation after he was deemed to not be properly lined up on the line of scrimmage despite him checking with the official multiple times before the ball was snapped. That negated a touchdown by running back Brian Robinson that would’ve cut Washington’s deficit to 20–18 ahead of a two-point conversion try.

The Commanders enter Sunday night hoping to separate themselves in the playoff race, but they’ll now head into Week 16 in a precarious position following the frustrating loss.

The Commanders (7-6-1) sit in seventh place entering a road clash with the red-hot 49ers (10–4) on Saturday.