Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) heads for a touchdown Sunday as Redskins linebacker Perry Riley (56) pulls up after hearing the whistle blow. / Nick Wass, AP
Washington Redskins linebacker Perry Riley was upset at the officials following Sunday's 21-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers because they inadvertently blew a whistle that caused him to pull up while pursuing DeAngelo Williams on 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Crew chief Carl Cheffers' explanation for the gaffe was that, even though a referee did blow a whistle thinking Williams had stepped out of bounds, they "felt when the whistle blew, that the player would have already scored a touchdown," which is why they let it stand.
Well, the NFL chimed in Monday, and it turns out the refs got it wrong. The play should've been ruled dead at the Redskins' 17-yard line.
"By rule, Carolina should have been given a choice of putting the ball in play where Williams was ruled to have stepped out of bounds‚??1st-and-10 from the Washington 17 yard-line‚??or replaying the down‚??1st-and-10 from the Washington 30," the league said in a statement, via The Washington Post.
If the play had been ruled correctly, and Williams' touchdown isn't allowed to give Carolina a 7-3 lead, who knows? We could be talking about a different outcome.
At least, I'm pretty sure Riley and the Redskins probably feel that way.
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Read the original story: NFL admits Panthers' touchdown shouldn't have counted