The National Football League lately is having some real issues with keeping track of time.
There was a major clock error in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ eventual Monday night win over the San Diego Chargers in Week 5, and Sunday night in Indianapolis saw not one, but two, clock errors in the game between the Colts and New England Patriots.
ProFootballTalk.com on Monday pointed out the two occasions. The first, according to PFT, had to do with the play clock. According to PFT’s Mike Florio, the hiccup came on the first drive of the game with the Colts going for it on fourth down. The play clock went below 10 seconds before resetting to 25 seconds. The Colts probably would have gotten the play off, Florio writes, but it’s still likely to raise some eyebrows. The Colts scored on that play.
The second error, according to the PFT story, came in the fourth quarter, with the Patriots holding a 13-point lead. As the Patriots were punting with 3:13 left in the game, the clock didn’t immediately start when the ball was snapped. The Colts, of course, could have used all the time they could get at that point in the game, as they were attempting a desperation comeback.
It’s unclear at this point whether the NFL will investigate. The official deemed responsible for the 18-second runoff in the Steelers-Chargers game, Rob Vernatchi, was suspended one game.
Considering both of these of errors “helped” the Colts, it’s safe to assume it’s only a matter of time before Patriots fans shout for a league investigation and/or are lamenting how if, this happened at Gillette Stadium, it would be treated like an international offense.
Thumbnail photo via Thomas J. Russo/USA TODAY Sports Images
