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NFL admits Browns strip-sacked Derek Carr in 4th quarter of 45-42 OT loss to the Raiders

By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com

BEREA, Ohio -- The NFL admitted Tuesday that the Browns forced Derek Carr to fumble in the fourth quarter of the Browns' 45-42 overtime loss to the Raiders and that the play should not have been blown dead.

With 5:54 remaining in regulation and the Browns up 35-34, Myles Garrett and Genard Avery combined to strip-sack Carr, and Larry Ogunjobi recovered.

But the refs blew the whistle and ruled Carr stopped for forward progress, robbing the Browns of the turnover in the crucial point in the game. Garrett and Avery still combined for a 3-yard sack, but didn't get the strip.

The Browns got the ball back at their 35 after a fair catch interference call against the Raiders, and Nick Chubb scored on his 41-yard TD three plays later to increase the Browns' lead to 42-34.

"Watch the passer on this play,'' said Senior Vice President of Officiating Al Riveron says, at about 2:38 in the video. "We rule passer stopped for forward progress and we kill the play. This is not forward progress. Obviously this is a fumble, we should not have blown the whistle. But because we ruled forward progress on this play, this play is not reviewable.

"This play would only be reviewable if it pertains to the line to gain or the goal-line. So again, once the official ruled forward progress, the only way that play is reviewable either via a challenge or a booth review is if pertains to the line to gain or the goal-line.''

Earlier in the day, before the NFL sent out its week 5 officiating video, Garrett and Avery admitted the quick whistle baffled them.

"For the life of me, I can't understand that call,'' Garrett said. "They called it down when the ball was floating into Larry's hands. That's kind of how the game goes."

He said he didn't know that the play was dead.

"I just turned and saw him running and then eventually he made it 10 yards, 15 yards down the field and they started blowing the whistle."

Avery agreed it was a sack-fumble.

"It was,'' he said. "They're not going to give us nothing so we've got to keep playing our game and doing what we can do and maybe they'll give us a call (one of these days).''

The officiating video did not show or mention the reversal of Carlos Hyde's third-down conversion with 1:38 left in regulation, which if not reversed would have enabled the Browns to run the clock out and celebrate a 42-34 victory, their first back-to-back wins since 2014. A league source told cleveland.com on Monday that a combination of angles show that Hyde's elbow and wrist were down short of the first-down line.

"The angles definitely gave me a view and perspective that he was short," Riveron told profootballtalk.com.

Still word on the first down though. Strange.

They've come out and said that Betsy Ross stitched together some different angles and the call was in fact correct. 'Merica!

Which of course is horse manure - because no such images have been provided / released that back that up.... and the review is supposed to be irrefutable evidence. Not pieced together detective work.

No word on that blatant block in the back yet...

Oh good, I feel so much better now that the NFL has admitted that the zebras effed up the call. But then I noticed that the L stays on our record, so bite me, NFL.