Analyzing Isaiah Likely's overturned touchdown vs. Chiefs | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

let's start unpacking the things that occurred and we'll start with the end and work our way backward you saw the final play this is what replay review was put in place to rectify and it really was close and I think about the standard as it was is explained by folks like should be Hall of Fame coach Mike hren 50 drunks in a bar need to unanimously agree that the ruling on the field was Incorrect and this is one where damn it's close and you have to get the right angle but when you get the right angle it is for some of these angles in my opinion it isn't there's one angle in particular where it is and there it is there it is there's the one that one's even better that's the one because you can't tell for sure that the toe's down if that whole foot gets in and the toe's never completely down and they have a weird rule about that they finally codified but regardless that last one is the one that makes it clear and obvious but for some of those it's like is it really clear and obvious is it really clear and obvious I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm not sure then it's like boom there's the one and and that's one of the realities of playing a prime time big platform lots of cameras game you get one of these five six levels deep Fox CBS one o00 Eastern game on a Sunday you don't have enough cameras to turn that over you're not going to get that last angle that provides the definitive look that comes up just in time to make it 100% clear that the ruling does need to be overturned so this is one of the examples of technology in abundance for a big game eventually providing a definitive look there's no question Mike you know and I know Lamar said that he still thinks it's a touchdown but it was clear and obvious that it wasn't a touchdown and you're right this is exactly what replay was intended for to overturn these calls and there's no I mean there's no way you get that right on the field it's luck if you get that right on the field you can't see that it was that close but re replay fixed it and it fixed it correctly at the Chiefs won the game I was just hoping hoping Beyond hope that it was a touchdown because it was obvious that they were in John Harbaugh was indicating they were going for two and and I wanted to see that that to me would have been a better ending to see how that finished with a two-point conversion rather than overturned by replay but it was the correct call and they got it right and regardless of what Lamar says that's how the game ended and that's how the game should have ended gutsy call to go for two under those circumstances but I think that's how it should have been on the road come from behind steal it and get the hell out of there don't put it into overtime and give the home crowd a chance to boost the Chiefs on the night when they celebrated their most recent championship and unlike last year pulled off the victory let's hear from some of the folks involved directly in last night's game on that fateful final play you said it Jameson I thought it was a touchdown I thought it was a touchdown but I still think it's a touchdown that's on me man I just got to I got to get both feet in you know I got I har myself to you know catch everything make sure everybody put us in the best possibility so I take you know responsibility next time I get my feet done what a what a wild environment down there it was uh two heavy weights in a fight right down to the end and when they say it's a game of inches it might be shorter than that no definitely nerve-wracking I mean just I mean cuz it looked good from my angle on the sideline um but in the first view you saw you could see the the cleat um so that's a great football team and I'm sure we'll see him again at some point in the playoffs so now we we're happy with the win now and he's got to wear white cleats next time that's that's my that's my advice for him you know Patrick Mahomes says that with a smile on his face and tongue planted in cheek but that really is an interesting hypothetical white cleats on that white line would it have been clear and obvious would the 50 drunks in a bar have all said when they saw the definitive look that toe is out I don't know and it really is a lesson and we were talking about this last night on the plane back because we were able to see bits and pieces of the game we're able to follow the game once we got to 10,000 ft but you should wear white cleats if you're a pass catcher for that very possibility that your toe is going to be close enough that the foot's going to be in and you're not going to be able to blur the line on replayer you do blur the line on replay as to whether the foot was out just like wearing white gloves when you're playing a team that's got a white jersey some players will resist that why wouldn't you wear white gloves when the team you're playing has a white jersey it's harder to see if you're holding the Jersey if your hands blend in with the Jersey those are minor strategic points that can make a difference and if that had been an all white shoe maybe it wouldn't have been clear and obvious Shireen in a situation that close but you plan for everything and whatever happens happens and that's one discreet finite clear example that if the shoe was white all the way through to the tip maybe it wouldn't have been clear and obvious to overturn the ruling on the field and it's going to be interesting Mike in the Ravens next game if Isaiah likely comes out in white shoes because I do think it might have made a difference it would have been harder to see whether that toe truly was in or out I mean it was clear with the black shoe that that it was out of bounds but if you have that white shoe then I think there's maybe a little more is that the shoe or is that the line so yeah it sometimes it comes down to that this game is a game of inches there's no question about that and this was a game of inches but you know Lamar had two other chances to make plays there and he didn't make those plays what I didn't like Mike in that whole sequence there the 38 yard pass to baatan to the 10 they snapped the ball with 43 seconds left and they had an opportunity to spike it their n next snap was at 18 seconds to me the time was more important than the play because you were probably only going to get three plays which is what they got either way you were only going to get three plays I think they would have been in a better position if they had taken their time uh spike the ball and then take your time go to the Huddle you get three good plays out of that which they they did get three plays and it ended up being three pretty good plays because he had open receivers but the first one obviously was a little bit rushed and he just missed likely on first down he just missed him back there in the corner of the end zone well he missed likely in the back corner of the end zone and likely jumped up came down in a very awkward manner on his arm that made it look like there was a serious injury that he would not be be playing again with last night and he was ultimately back for the final play and in between he miss a flow wide open Z flowers was wide open and it was one of those this is the value and I'm tapping the breaks before I say this but I'm going to say it this is the value of being there for the entire offseason program this is the value of developing an almost telepathic connection to your receivers because if you watch the play and I don't know if we have it it was the second down play before the final play of the game Z flowers is cutting across the end zone and Lamar Jackson is buying time and Z flowers kept going and Lamar Jackson threw it behind him and when it happens it's so quick it's almost like Z flowers did he have a chance to get that but he's his momentum was taken in one way the ball was behind him the more you work with someone the more you pick up those little nuances of how people move in those situations it all comes back to you in theory in that moment where you're trying to find calm amidst chaos and you're never going to have a bright line it's what I said about Aaron Rogers skipping out on mandatory mini camp you're never going to have a bright line that will take you back to you know what if you'd have just been there for those two practices something would have happened during those two practices kind of like wearing the white shoe like you with the white shoe hey okay well there's an instance where you could have used it this is far more nebulous and far more vague and I say it because Lamar Jackson SK most of the offseason program so you're never going to be able to prove it but it's why you should be there for everything because you pick up those little things about what your receiver does in a situation like that CU maybe something like like that happened on the second day of o when you weren't there and you know we would have been in a different situation there wouldn't have been a need for a review the Ravens would have gone for two and we'd be talking for the last 13 minutes about whether or not it was a good play whether it was executed well whether they got the two-point conversion whether they didn't isn't it amazing how a toe changes everything it really changes what we're talking about because we could be sitting here talking about wow how' the Ravens pull that out there's no way they should have pulled that out the Chiefs should have won that by a mile they shouldn't have even come down to the end and instead we're talking about how close it is and how he didn't connect with those receivers it it really changes the whole storyline of everything because of a toe being out not getting to go for the two-pointer and I think even if they had scored there I I think the storyline probably is a little bit different if they if they lose it on a two-point conversion I think we're talking about different things today than what we're talking about now but that's what this game is Mike you break it down and it comes down to one play and they didn't make the one play and they had two other opportunities to make the one play to get an opportunity to go for two and they didn't get it done so here we are talking about hey Chiefs are going to be hard to stop again and how are the Ravens gonna fix this so when they if they play the Chiefs again they're able to pull out a win well and if they play the Chiefs again it's far more likely now that the game will happen at R HUD Stadium because if the two teams have the same record they both win the division the Chiefs will be higher on the playoff tree period now the Chiefs have the Bengals coming up in nine days so this was the kind of start to the season that really should have and apparently did get their attention you can't play with your food early in the season you lose to the Ravens you lose to the Bengals getting the one seed becomes a lot harder because they own the tiebreaker but for now Chiefs are in a great position if they would beat the Bengals in nine days they'll be in even better position to lock up the one seed and not have to do it the hard way like they did last year going to Buffalo going to Baltimore although we saw last year that if they have to do it the hard way they will hi it's Mike Florio thanks for watching PFT on YouTube hit subscribe for the latest news and Analysis from pro football talk