'Optics bad, but this game was called mostly well'
We are covering the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., between the Bengals and Chiefs.
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First off can you just explain what the ruling was that led to the replayed third down?
On the previous play, there was an incomplete pass. We spotted the ball, but the line judge came in and re-spotted the ball because the spot was off. We reset the play clock and the game clock started running. It should not have started running because there was an incomplete pass on the previous play. The field judge noticed that the game clock was running. He was coming in to shut the play down so that we could get the clock fixed but nobody heard him, and the play was run. After the play was over, he came in and we discussed that he was trying to shut the play down before the ball had been snapped. So, we reset the game clock back to where it was before that snap and replayed third down.
What are the normal protocols when a play can’t get stopped in time and the play does get off, especially if it appeared that it did not affect the play?
If we were trying to shut down the play and we couldn't, we would shut it down and go back and replay the down.