Bengals unhappy with safety call in overtime
By Josh Sanchez
For just the third time in NFL history, a football game ended with a safety in overtime. The Miami Dolphins were able to sack Andy Dalton to snap their four-game losing streak, but the Cincinnati Bengals were not happy with the call that cost them the game.
Head coach Marvin Lewis and quarterback Andy Dalton both questioned the ruling, but NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino discussed the ruling after the game with the NFL Network and said that the right call was made.
“The key is the position of the ball in relation to the goal line when Dalton is first contacted by Wake,” Blandino said. “We had a great look at it – a look right down the goal line. When Wake first makes contact with Dalton, the ball is breaking the plane of the goal line. If any part of that ball is breaking the plane when the contact occurs, and he is driven back into the end zone, it’s a safety. That was the ruling. It was reviewed in replay and confirmed. The entire ball has to be out of the end zone when the contact occurs for it not to be a safety.”
The ball appeared to be just over the goal line whenever Dalton was hit, which means the safety was the right call.
It was an unfortunate ending for the Bengals, but ultimately it was their early 17-point hole that they dug themselves that ended up costing them the game.