Referee Admits to Making Mistake That Gave 49ers Extra Down, Led to Touchdown
Referee Bill Leavy admitted to making a mistake during the second quarter of the San Francisco-Green Bay game, in which the 49ers were granted an extra play they should not have received.
After Clay Matthews‘ massive hit on Colin Kaepernick drew a flag, 49ers offensive lineman Joe Staley was also given a penalty. The offsetting penalties occurred on a third-down play, but instead of facing a fourth-and-two situation, San Francisco was mistakenly allowed to repeat the third down.
“On the play where the quarterback went out of bounds and was hit late out of bounds, and then there was a subsequent hit by a San Francisco player, the down should have counted,” Leavy told pool reporters after the game. “The penalties were both dead ball, and they should have offset at the spot where the runner went out of bounds. And it would have been fourth down.”
Because of the error, San Francisco avoided a field goal situation, and Kaepernick threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin on the very next play. The 49ers went on to win 34-28.
