NFL Explains Why Ref Took Second Look on Game-Changing Call in Lions’ Win vs. Bucs

Kristen Wong | Oct 21, 2025

The officials ruled Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton was short of a first down in the fourth quarter, marking a successful challenge for the Lions that has since elicited some controversy. / Screengrab on Twitter/ @rate_the_refs

The Lions secured a statement win over the Buccaneers on Monday night, but it wasn't without controversy.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Lions appeared to benefit from a review process that overturned a pivotal call on the field. On a 4th-and-four, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield had thrown a short pass down the middle to tight end Cade Otton, and Otton lunged for the first down before the ball popped out of his hands as he hit the ground. The ruling on the field was a catch and a fumble, with the game's officials deeming that Otton did in fact get the first down.

The Lions decided to challenge the line to gain as they believed Otton didn't reach the down marker. That challenge was unsuccessful. Then, referee John Hussey was asked to take a second look at the play on the monitor after which the original call was overturned, Otton was ruled short of a first and Detroit got the ball back on a turnover on downs.

After review the refs rule that Cade Otton was short of the 1st down marker. Successful challenge for the Lions pic.twitter.com/rr7WNudBxf

— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) October 21, 2025

After the Lions' 24-9 win, NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth explained the officials' lengthy review process on that play in a pool report.

When asked why the spot wasn't looked at during the initial replay review, Butterworth said:

"We did look at the spot. We were trying to mirror angles together. Later in the process we received an enhanced view from broadcast that showed when [Otton's] knee was down, the ball was short of the line to gain. We were having issues with the referee’s O2O (official-to-official communication system), which is why he was brought back to the monitor.

"We did not show him anything on the screen at that point, it was simply to communicate to clean up the ruling on the field."

Butterworth also cleared up potential confusion over what elements of a play can be under review given a challenge.

"When a team challenges or the replay official stops the game, by rule all reviewable aspects of the play are under review," Butterworth said.

The Lions were up 21-9 at that point, and the Bucs still had their work cut out for them to mount a successful comeback. Ultimately, the overturned call appeared to be the right one in the end, as clarified by the postgame pool report.

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