As the Packers were trying to mount a comeback against the Lions on Thursday night, they got a gift.
A play snapped with no time on the clock resulted in a 44-yard throw from quarterback Jordan Love to receiver Jayden Reed.
The quarter had clearly ended. Zero, colon, zero zero.
According to NFL spokesman Michael Signora, the situation is no different than the expiration of the play clock. The officials need to notice that the clock has struck zero, and then to blow the whistle.
“This is the same process as exists with the play clock,” Signora said. “The official sees the game clock and then looks to the snap. There is always a brief delay, and this is not reviewable.”
That conflicts with the explanation provided on Thursday night by Amazon Prime rules analyst Terry McAulay. He said it’s not treated like the play clock, and that one the game clock hits zero, the play should be shut down.
Still, unless there’s a buzzer or some other noise made when the clock hits zero, there will always be a delay. Someone has to see that the clock is at zero and then react. It creates a sliver of time for a play to happen before the eye sends the relevant message to the brain, and before the brain sends the relevant message to the mouth.
