After Further Review: Jets-Lions officiating

By popular demand, we're again going to have a post after each game that breaks down some of the controversial decisions from the officiating crew in the game.

Penalty Count

Lions 6-52 (leading to one Jets first down)
Jets 2-20 (leading to zero Lions first downs)

Note: This does not include penalties that are declined or off-set.

Plays where the call was obvious, uncontroversial or not visible on broadcast footage

Jets Penalties

  • Intentional grounding on Zach Wilson. Correct call as Wilson was still in the pocket and his side-arm into the dirt wasn't close enough to any eligible target.
  • George Fant offensive holding. Held on for a split-second too long in that typical situation where a back bounces a run to the outside so the edge defender has outside leverage.
  • Carl Lawson jumped offside but this was offset by another penalty.

Lions Penalties

  • Delay of game on an extra point.
  • Pass interference on DeShon Elliott. Clear call as he grabbed Garrett Wilson down the field and then grabbed him a second time.
  • John Cominsky offside. Jumped early but the Jets declined this as they picked up the first down anyway.
  • Penei Sewell holding on Bryce Huff. Clear call as he reached across Huff's body on the outside rush and dragged him down.
  • Evan Brown holding on CJ Mosley to negate a touchdown run. This was a clear hold as he hugged Mosley at the second level. It looked like there was no need to hold here as the back likely scores anyway.
  • Brown again with a hold on Sauce Gardner in space. Allowed his hand to get a grip of the outside of Gardner's shoulder pad for another clear call.
  • Ragnow offensive holding on Nathan Shepherd on an outside pitch play. Held on too long as Shepherd was blocked at the point of attack and tried to get downhill.
  • Will Harris pass interference on Wilson down the field, declined anyway because Wilson still made the catch. Harris basically tackled him.

Penalties warranting further discussion or explanation

Jets Penalties

  • Defensive holding on Tony Adams. This was declined anyway but Adams was a little unlucky here. He lost his balance and dragged his man down as he fell. The call is still correct though.

Lions Penalties

  • Illegal formation on Justin Jackson on a kick-off. They had the requisite number of players on each side of the ball, so the issue here must have been the wrong number of players on the line of scrimmage. You couldn't see that from the footage.
  • Ragnow holding on Huff. Again this saw him trying to prevent the defensive player from getting to the outside and holding on too long. Had Ragnow known that Lawson jumped offside on 3rd-and-5 he perhaps should have realized that not holding here would be the smart move.

Notable no-calls etc

We're told the Jets were angry at the officiating in the game, perhaps moreso than any other game this year. They apparently were frustrated that the Lions were blatantly holding Wilson on every play on the last drive but the officials neglected to call it even when it was pointed out to them. They were also frustrated about a missed roughing the passer call on the Lions and a clear pass interference by Jeff Okudah on Jeff Smith in the end zone.

Here were some of the other notable missed calls, replay situations and controversial moments:

  • Solomon Thomas seemed to get away with being offside on one play.
  • Both Taylor Decker and Fant had plays where they got away with dropping into their stance before the snap.
  • Wilson didn't get the call on a jump ball where there was hand-fighting between him and the defender but his ability to make a play on the ball did seem to be impeded by the actions of the defender.
  • Jameson Williams got away with a push-off on the deep ball where DJ Reed recovered to break it up anyway.
  • The no-call on a possible Jared Goff intentional grounding was correct. In contrast to the Wilson play, he got outside the tackle box and got the ball past the line of scrimmage.
  • Kenny Yeboah got away with an illegal block in the back on a special teams play.
  • Alex Anzalone knocked Nate Herbig's helmet off as he shoved him at the end of a play but no call was made.
  • The overturn of the Zach Wilson quarterback sneak was obviously correct. The fact his elbow was down was well-spotted by the officials.

Let us know what we missed - or misinterpreted - in the comments...