Controversial finish to Browns-Colts game frustrates NFL world

If you’re someone who likes to see the officials leave penalty flags in their pockets at the end of a game, you probably didn’t enjoy the finish of Week 7’s game between the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts. And if you were cheering for the Colts, you definitely didn’t enjoy the finish.

Trailing by five in the final minute, Cleveland had the ball deep in Indianapolis territory. On a third-and-four, Colts linebacker E.J. Speed sacked Browns quarterback P.J. Walker and forced a fumble. DeForest Buckner recovered the ball to seemingly secure a victory for the Colts. There was some dispute about whether Walker’s arm might have been going forward, but that was quickly rendered moot.

Indianapolis’ Darrell Baker Jr. was penalized for illegal contact against Cleveland’s Amari Cooper. With that, the turnover was wiped out and the Browns were given a clean set of downs.

It didn’t get any better for the Colts.

On the next play, Walker attempted to find Donovan Peoples-Jones in the end zone. The ball fell incomplete. And while there was definite contact between Peoples-Jones and Baker, the ball was thrown well out of the end zone. Despite the catch seemingly being uncatchable, Baker was again penalized, this time for pass interference.

Cleveland was now at the one-yard line. But the Indianapolis defense held strong, stopping the Browns on three straight plays, setting up a fourth down. Walker handed the ball off to Kareem Hunt and while the Colts didn’t make it easy on him, Hunt broke the plane of the goal line, giving the Browns the lead.

Any hopes that the Colts might be able to pull a miracle off quickly went away when Za’Darius Smith strip-sacked Gardner Minshew. Cleveland’s Ogbonnia Okoronkwo fell on the loose ball, sealing the victory.

After the game, there was a lot of frustration that the referees had such a big role in the game’s conclusion.

[Photo Credit: CBS]