The Houston Texans and the Oakland Raiders are playing Monday Night Football in Mexico City, and the Houston Texans appeared to have a huge play to start the game off, but a possible officiating error prevented that.
Brock Osweiler hit DeAndre Hopkins with a pass, then Hopkins evaded Raiders defenders, delicately tiptoed up the sideline, and appeared to be off to the races for a touchdown, but the referees ruled him out of bounds at the 36-yard line for a 24-yard gain.
A closer look at the play showed what looked like just enough daylight between Hopkins’s foot and the sideline.
As a result, the Texans had a 24-yard gain on the play as opposed to 36 more yards and a 60-yard touchdown.
Texans head coach Bill O’Brien tried to challenge the play, but officials denied, as the play is not reviewable by rule.
According to the rules, O’Brien should have been penalized for challenging an unreviewable play. They state that "if a team initiates a challenge when it is not permitted to do so, it will be charged a timeout." Luckily for O’Brien, it was not.
Dean Blandino, the NFL’s Senior VP of officiating gave an explanation on the call:
Explanation on out of bounds play from earlier in game tonight #HOUvsOAK #MexicoCity #MiPartidoMiNFL pic.twitter.com/0U3EN2wvzc
— Dean Blandino (@DeanBlandino) November 22, 2016
It’s a similar play as when the Denver Broncos beat the New Orleans Saints earlier this season on a blocked extra point attempt.
The Texans would end up with a field goal to end the drive.