The NFL said the officiating crew working the Giants game Sunday night should have stopped play and eliminated confusion about the down and distance in the final seconds of the 24-17 victory at Washington.
A 4-yard completion to the Redskins’ Pierre Garcon was spotted short of a first down. Referee Jeff Triplette signaled third down. But the head linesman, with Washington in a hurry-up offense, incorrectly motioned for the crew to advance the chains, which caused the down boxes to read first down.
League officiating director Dean Blandino said Monday in a statement that “in this situation where there is obvious confusion as to the status of the down, play should have been stopped prior to third down and the correct down communicated to both clubs.
“This should have occurred regardless of the fact that Washington had no timeouts and it was inside two minutes.”