The camera doesn’t lie. But does it cheat in favor of the home team?
The Broncos beat Washington 21-19. Or did they?
Upon further review, the Redskins claimed a blown call on instant replay erased two hard-earned points from the scoreboard and robbed them of victory.
While the NFL has regularly relied on instant replay since 1999, the debate goes on. The technology changes the outcome of games, but seldom ends arguments. Washington left the field Sunday feeling miserable, soaked to the bone from a cold, steady rain and refusing to believe Denver deserved to win.
The Redskins contend the referees beat them, with defensive end Renaldo Wynn thinking sheepish league officials might have to apologize for knocking Washington from the ranks of the unbeaten.
“In our situation it always seems like they come back and say, ‘Oh, yeah, we made a mistake.’ But that doesn’t do it because you’ve got to make that call right, when it happens,” Wynn said.
Did Denver quarterback Jake Plummer really throw an incomplete pass in the third quarter, when a wet football slipped from his clammy hands? Or did a referee in the replay booth fumble by overturning the initial ruling on the field of a safety?
What really happened remains a matter of debate.
What we know for certain is Plummer dropped the ball at his goal line, then took guilty chase after his mistake like it was a greased pigskin, until he awkwardly splashed down in the soggy end zone.
Justice is always in the eye of the beholder.
“We got the break there,” Plummer said.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who wisely challenged the safety that momentarily cut Denver’s lead to 14-12, based his appeal on the league’s tuck rule, which basically allows quarterbacks to be as clumsy as they want to be under duress.
“You could see right away it was the tuck rule,” Shanahan said.
The tuck rule states a pass begins when the quarterback brings his throwing hand forward, and a fumble is impossible once that arm is in motion, regardless of how klutzy Plummer looked or how panicked he appeared when the football slipped from his grasp.
It’s a stupid rule, allowing no room for interpretation or common sense.
The body language of Plummer and the Broncos shouted fumble.
“I couldn’t see them overturning that, but I guess they did,” Washington coach Joe Gibbs said. “To me, the way their team reacted, I thought it was a done deal.”
Credit Shanahan for the impromptu appeal. Give up this coaching gig, and he could become a Hall of Fame lawyer.
“It was a good idea on Denver’s part. Challenge the call and put the pressure in the referees’ hands. Hope and pray they overturn it,” Wynn said. “But, personally, I don’t think there’s enough evidence to overturn it. Period. I mean, there was just not enough evidence to make that type of call.”
Hang around D.C. long enough, and maybe you begin to believe everything that’s not partisan politics might be a conspiracy.
Wynn was shocked when two points came off the scoreboard. And the Redskins were dismayed by perceived favoritism for the home team.
“Hey, you’re in their place. You’re not always going to get those type of calls,” Wynn said.
As this tense game wore on, the ruling only grew more crucial, especially when the Redskins scored a touchdown with 69 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to pull within two points of Denver.
How much is a safety worth, again?
Watching Denver linebacker Ian Gold knock down a pass from Mark Brunell to ruin Washington’s attempt at a two-point conversion for the tie, Gibbs’ thoughts naturally turned to simple math and the complex ramifications of instant replay.
“It was big. It was a big deal,” Gibbs said. “You can imagine at the end of the game we’re kicking an extra point to win the game.”
I believe the replay judge dutifully followed the letter of the NFL law. He had no choice except rule incomplete pass. Rules are rules.
Which is not to say justice was served.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
