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NBC’s NFL Rules Official Thought Refs 'Clearly' Missed Big Call in Ravens-Bills Game

Kristen Wong

Josh Allen and the Bills received a controversial spot after Allen gave himself up on a slide in the fourth quarter against the Ravens.
Josh Allen and the Bills received a controversial spot after Allen gave himself up on a slide in the fourth quarter against the Ravens. / Screengrab on Twitter/ @Rate_the_Refs
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Josh Allen still can't catch a break on getting first downs in 2025. The Bills quarterback found himself in the center of controversy late in his team's comeback win over the Ravens on Sunday night when he received a questionable spot after giving himself up.

Early in the fourth quarter when the Bills were losing 40-25, Allen took off on a scramble on a 2nd-and-long and slid thinking that he got the first down. However, the refs ruled that Allen was a yard short. On the next two plays, the Bills picked up a holding penalty and then Allen got sacked, forcing Buffalo to punt the ball away.

NBC's NFL rules official, Terry McAulay, said on the broadcast that he was certain Allen got the first down on his slide.

"It's the front of the football when the body part touches the ground, and it's clearly beyond the line. ... This should've been a first down. Missed the spot by about a yard on the field," McAulay said.

McAulay doubled down on his comments on X (formerly Twitter) to explain the NFL rules for a quarterback slide:

"On a feet-first slide:

College: The ball is spotted at its foremost point when the runner begins his slide.
NFL: The ball is spotted at its foremost point when a body part other than hand or foot touches the ground.

Please share this to the world."

Some fans thought Allen was down based on when he began his slide, but McAulay clearly pointed out that's not the case in the NFL. Instead, Allen should have been marked down when his lower leg touched the turf, at which point you can see the football had already crossed the first-down line.

Had Allen and the Bills not walked away with a 41-40 victory Sunday night, the referees might have faced some fiery criticism for this potential game-changing call.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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