Should the Packers have been penalized for the blocked field goal against the Bears? The NFL says no and rejects Chicago’s complaint.
Now the lid has finally been put on the dramatic defeat of the Chicago Bears after the last second field goal was blocked by the Packers defense at 19:20 last Sunday.
Following the game against Green Bay, the Bears filed a complaint with the NFL against the referees’ decision on the last play.
This has now been rejected by the league, as the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The NFL accepted the Bears’ argument that their long snapper Scott Daly was touched by Packers defender TJ Slaton before the field goal attempt.
However, this action was not punishable because Daly did not have his head down at the moment of contact immediately after the snap. Only if he had been touched at that moment would Slaton’s action have been criminal, the report says.
The result would have been a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary harshness against the Packers, which would have given the Bears the chance to score the field goal again – but now from a significantly better position.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos was blocked by Packers player Karl Brooks on his 46-yard attempt with the clock running out.
“They were on our long snapper, so we’re going to file a grievance and see what the league says,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said after the loss.
For the Bears it was the eleventh defeat in a row against Green Bay; Chicago last won against their NFC North rival in 2018. After the fourth bankruptcy in a row, the air is gradually becoming thinner for Eberflus.
