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I must say, that was one of the strangest plays I've seen. For those that weren't watching the game, Green Bay had the ball on its own 1. Samkon Gado appeared to be wrapped up in the end zone for a safety when he pitched the ball forward and incomplete. There was also a flag for holding on the play, which apparently was ruled to have occurred out of the end zone. The WH (Mike Carey, I believe) originally said that it was intentional grounding from the end zone, safety, and that the holding penalty was declined.
Then, it starts to get fun. All seven officials huddle for about 5 minutes and discuss the play. Carey eventually comes back with since Gado was out of the pocket, the ball crossed the LOS, and there was an eligible receiver in the area, it was simply an incomplete pass. But the holding still happened, so 1/2 distance, still first down. The Lions then declined the holding penalty, so now second down. The two points would have been the difference in the game.
One question for those familiar with NFL rules -- Carey ruled that the hold occurred out of the end zone. Replays seemed to show that the hold occurred in the end zone, which, of course, would have meant a safety. Could the Lions have challenged the location of the penalty? I know you can challenge the spot of the ball, but I don't think I've ever seen a situation quite like that where the spot of a penalty could have potentially made the difference in the game.
Oh yeah, at the OT coin toss, Carey couldn't find his coin. They had to ask around on the sideline if anyone had a quarter.
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