After the Detroit Lions’ last-second loss to the Chicago Bears, much was made of the coaches’ decision to call back-to-back timeouts late in the game. The infraction came when both head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn pleaded to officials to grant them a second timeout because there was a miscommunication in the Lions' defense and Detroit was fearful that Chicago would convert, effectively ending the game. The third-and-9 turned into a third-and-4 after the Lions were penalized for back-to-back timeouts—which isn’t allowed in the NFL—and the Bears converted anyways.
But many took umbrage with that third-and-4 play.