Lions own loss after late OPI calls: 'It's on us'

DETROIT -- Still trying to process what just happened in the Lions' 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a red-faced Dan Campbell refused to blame the officials after penalties negated two touchdowns that would've flipped the outcome of the game in the final 30 seconds of regulation.

"We weren't able to close it out. And at the end of the day, that's on us," Campbell said of the loss, which likely ends Detroit's playoff hopes. "We did that. We're the ones who put ourselves in that position to where we had to try to score on the last play."

On the final play of the game, a fourth-and-goal from the 9, Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a catch just short of the goal line before the star wide receiver flipped a lateral to Goff for what looked like a miracle, walk-off touchdown. However officials had thrown a flag before Goff crossed the goal line after St. Brown appeared to shove off Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey to break free before the initial catch.

After a lengthy huddle, officials announced that St. Brown had committed offensive pass interference and that the game was over.

The NFL applicable rule to the end of game scenario is Rule 4, Section 8, Article 2 (b). The rule reads, in part: "If there is a foul by the offense, there shall be no extension of the period. If the foul occurs on the last play of the half, a score by the offense is not counted."

The penalty to end the game came just three plays after another touchdown caught by St. Brown was negated by a offensive pass interference call against Lions rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa.

Goff echoed his coach's stance of taking ownership for the loss, but admitted he felt the penalty against TeSlaa was a "bad call."

"[The officials] have a hard job, and I don't want to make any excuses or anything like that. We've been on the right side of a lot of these, and we've been on the wrong side on a lot of these," said Goff, who threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns. "I think a few plays prior, the one on TeSlaa was a little bit more in my head, up for interpretation, but listen man, they're gonna make the calls and I promise you if I was sitting on the other side of that right now, we'd be saying great job, but those sting for sure and you wish they weren't called, but so be it."

When asked about the TeSlaa play, Cheffers said in the pool report that "the reporting official on that play told me that the offending player picked one of the defenders, creating an opportunity for the offensive player to make the catch."

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said that wasn't quite the wildest ending to a game he's been part of and referenced the 2012 "Fail Mary" between the Packers and Seahawks in 2012. That time, the officials ruled two players had "simultaneous possession," and Seattle was awarded the game-winning touchdown.

"I was trying to read Carl's lips and see what he was saying and I saw him mouth, 'OPI, end of the game,'" Rodgers said of the review Sunday. "So I felt pretty confident that was what was going to happen, but you never know. It's more time. And I was there for the 'Fail Mary' game. I was standing from me to you from the replacement refs as they caved to the pressure of an angry Seattle field when that was obviously not simultaneous possession.

"So I was glad that it ended up like that. Wild game. Glad we're on top."

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Detroit is the only team to have two offensive pass interference penalties enforced in final 30 seconds of regulation in any game over the last 30 years.