One of the most bizarre plays of the season unfolded in Monday night's game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions, and the explanation for it was just as wild.
The play in question saw Cade Otton reach for what appeared to be a first down that would have given the Bucs a fourth down conversion. Otton lost the ball when he was reaching but the ball was recovered by Tampa Bay and moved back to the spot where it came lose.
Detroit challenged the ruling on the field, but this is where things get strange.
Initially, it was stated that Detroit was challenging that Otton didn't complete the process of the catch. That's what John Hussey announced when he gave the ruling that the call on the field stood and that Otton had indeed caught the ball. That's not what NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth explained was the case after the game, however.
NFL gives a frustrating explanation for the controversial double review of Cade Otton's catch
Essentially, the situation broke down like this:
- Cade Otton caught a pass, extended to reach beyond the first down marker, lost the ball after hitting the ground.
- Detroit challenged the ruling on the field of a catch.
- Officials ruled replay confirmed Cade Otton had caught the ball and the call on the field stood.
- However, upon a second look, the ball was short of a first down and the result was a turnover on downs.
- Detroit retained its challenge and wasn't charged a timeout.
After the game, Butterworth was asked by a pool reporter why the play was given a "second look" and for clarification on what Dan Campbell challenged. The explanation won't make too many Bucs fans happy.
"Coach Campbell was challenging the line to gain," Butterworth said. "We were having issues with the referee's 020 (official-to-official communication system), which is why he was brought back to the monitor. We did not show him anything on the screen at that point, it was simply to communicate to clean up the ruling on the field."
However, Butterworth raises some doubt about the initial challenge call when answering a question about plays being changed after replay review even if it wasn't the call being challenged
"So when a team challenges or the replay official stops the game, by rule all reviewable aspects of the play are under review," Butterworth said.
That feels like an answer to cover your ass, and it leaves the whole situation open to interpretation by conspiracy theorists who already have it out for the NFL.
What we do know is that the Bucs didn't win or lose the game on that play, as frustrating as it was. The Bucs lost by 15 points, looked bad all night, and now need to regroup without Mike Evans being available for the rest of the season.
It was a frustrating moment and remains a pretty sketchy call, but it's hardly the worst thing about the Bucs night and the last thing they need to worry about moving forward.