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Incredible...the NFL should be embarrassed

The NFL head of officials has admitted that the referees made the wrong call in the last two minutes last night, when the Seattle linebacker batted the ball out of the endzone. Also, a 26-year referee, who was not working the game, stated the same thing on the ESPN post-game show. Seattle was awarded the ball on their 20-yard line. Possession should have been awarded to the last team that had possession, the Lions, with the ball placed on the 6-inch line (a penalty should have been called against the Seattle linebacker). One of the referees was looking directly at the play. It's also incredible that the league office in New York didn't overrule the call.
The Lions could have taken the lead 17-13 with about 1:30 left to play.
I thought the Lions should have been awarded the ball when the play occurred. I'm surprised that Caldwell, the Lions coach, didn't vehemently object to the call. Incredibly, Ray Lewis, Trent Dilfer and Steve Young all stated that they were not aware of the rule.
That call could have major implications on the entire season, as it could affect playoff seedings, home-field advantage, etc. That officiating crew should not be allowed to work another game for the rest of the year!
And, the NFL league office should be embarrassed.
(And no, I'm not a Lions fan).

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/10/5/9 ... in-johnson

NFL officiating has been particularly bad this year; at least in the games I've seen. The non-P.I. call on Dallas in the Giants' opening game directly impacted the final result of the Cowboyz win over the Giants.

HOWEVER, while the Giants P.I. call directly impacted the final result, this time it did not. While the ruling was wrong, actually making/enforcing it would have violated the "spirit" of the rule as a) there was no way that ball was staying inbounds anyway, b) there was no Lion anywhere near it that could have recovered it before it went OB and c) if the Seattle LB had simply known the rule and tried(?) to GRAB it (and failed) the result would have been the same and the play would have been "legal".

So while in this case, technically the refs blew the call, it really didn't have any effect on what should have been the the outcome of the play.

Kinda sorta like when there's obvious P.I. but the ball is overthrown so badly they pick up the flag because it wasn't "catchable".

IMO, same thing here.