Giants score early touchdown after Lions fail to challenge an obvious blown call by the refs
The New York Giants raced out to an early 7-0 lead at home against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, scoring on the opening drive not long after the Lions failed to challenge an obvious Odell Beckham Jr. drop that the refs incorrectly called a completion.
Early in the drive, on a 1st-and-10 in their own territory, Eli Manning threw to Beckham over the middle on a short pass. At first glance, it looked like Beckham bobbled the ball, but maybe caught it with his legs to secure a completion.
You could see immediately that the officials did not know for certain whether Beckham had actually caught the ball. The side judge appeared to be looking for someone else to make the call. When they did now, he called it a completion:
However, the replay clearly showed that Beckham dropped the ball:
Maybe the most shocking part is trying to figure out how the back judge missed the ball hitting the ground. He appeared to be looking in that direction and in perfect position to see the play.
Inexplicably, the Lions decided not to challenge the play. It was a four-yard gain, which isn't a back-breaking play, but a 2nd-and-10 compared to a 2nd-and-6 is notable.
The Giants continued to move the ball, and scored just a few plays later when Manning found Sterling Shepherd in the end zone.
You never know what might've happened if the Lions had challenged, but they missed an easy one.