WATCH: NFL overturns fumble call on controversial 49ers drive
In the NFL playoffs, calls on the field made by officials are always magnified given the scope of these games. And that was made apparent in the first NFC divisional-round game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers.
Green Bay had a sequence of calls not go their way on the 49ers’ second drive. The first time was a fumble by San Francisco’s swiss army knife, Deebo Samuel, on first down. Samuel fumbled while fighting for extra yards, but it was ruled that his forward progress had stopped, and the 49ers were awarded the ball back.
The second one was on second-and-five from their own 40-yard line. 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo connected with receiver Brandon Aiyuk on a crossing route to pick up the first down. But before he could be taken down on the play, the ball was popped out from behind by Rasul Douglas and picked up by the Packers.
The original call on the field was a fumble recovered by the defense. But in the NFL, all turnover plays are reviewed by the officials. After a timeout break and a conference, the referee crew determined that Aiyuk did not fully possess the ball before fumbling, and it was an incomplete pass.
To make matters worse for the Packers, the officials missed a false start penalty by 49ers’ tackle, Trent Williams, on third down. The highlight of that sequence will be that they were able to successfully get San Francisco off the field and force a punt. But even that is bitter-sweet as the punt was downed inside their own 20-yard line compared to taking over on San Francisco’s side of the field.