I honestly didn’t expect the Falcons to take down the Buccaneers. But I also didn’t expect one of the worst calls I have ever seen in my entire football-watching life to rob the Falcons of a comeback opportunity.
With 3:03 remaining in the game, and the Falcons trailing 21-14, the Buccaneers were facing third-and-5 on Atlanta’s 47-yard line. Tom Brady took the snap, and was soon taken down by Grady Jarrett with a clean sack.
Except referee Jerome Boger didn’t think it was a clean sack. Boger flagged Jarrett for roughing the passer, so instead of the Buccaneers being stuck with a fourth-and-long, they got a fresh set of downs, forced the Falcons to use their last time out, and were able to run out the clock for the win.