An odd sequence of events occurred during Sunday’s showdown between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons.
Tom Brady and Co. emerged with a four-point, 31-27 victory, but it was not without controversy.
Late in the outing Tampa Bay was trying to hold on to its lead by handing off to Leonard Fournette on third down.
Fournette rushed forward and appeared to be down noticeably before the first down marker, but reached his arm forward. The ref who spotted the ball not only gave him the benefit of the doubt, but literally moved the ball forward for him.
— Viral Sports (@NotScTop10plays) December 20, 2020
This measurement gave Tom Brady and the Bucs a first down pic.twitter.com/ygGYmreTsA
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) December 20, 2020
Needless to say, people had some reactions.
Big Leo DiCaprio energy on the spot pic.twitter.com/NCxCo3K0Ny
— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) December 20, 2020
That Line Ref out here point shaving https://t.co/R9S4yvGdmh
— Daniel Hall (@dhall_ost) December 20, 2020
@DeanBlandino @MikePereira @NFLOfficiating how do these people have jobs? https://t.co/uUCMkL1LGz
— David Croy (@DeepCroy) December 20, 2020
All that being said, maybe the gods simply felt like Atlanta didn’t deserve this victory.
Mind you, the Falcons led the Buccaneers 17-0 at halftime and 24-7 in the third quarter. However, as has been typical for the team in 2020, they permitted Brady to rally Tampa Bay and storm back.
With the victory, the Buccaneers moved to 9-5 on the season while the Falcons fell to 4-10.
Should LeBron be suspended? The video speaks for itself. https://t.co/6VN3jINFwA
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 19, 2020
Related: What Stephen Curry Told Klay Thompson After His Injury
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
