It is unfortunate that inept refs decided another Lions game. There was the fiasco in Dallas, but this time they handed the game to the Lions. I have not yet had a chance to read other posts about the refs in this game. So this post is based entirely upon what I saw. The non-call on obvious defensive holding was without question the deciding factor. As the replay showed, it was a clear-cut case of holding the receiver to whom the pass was thrown. How can a ref miss such a violation? There was another blatant missed call when to defenders crashed into Nacua. It is true that one of them shouldn't have been flagged because he was playing the ball. However, the other defender hit Nacua and was not playing the ball. Just because one defender makes a legal play doesn't mean another defender should be allowed to get away with an illegal play. The other play in question was the holding call on 3rd and 4. I rewatched that play and didn't see an obvious hold. Certainly nothing beyond what opposing teams do to Aaron Donald on every play. Hutchinson fell down and Havenstein fell on top of him, but that in itself doesn't constitute holding. I suspect that the ref reacted to the series of events, which often happen when there is holding, rather than seeing any actual holding. I would be curious if others have studied this play more closely and their take on it.
