November 12, 2007

Colts lose a Gimme 21-23

A Tough Loss that is all the harder to take because of the intervention of the refs in the final minutes of the game

The win even seemed to be a foregone conclusion when Colts running back Joseph Addai appeared to have picked up a first down on a 3-yard run to the Chargers' 6 with 1:36 remaining. Officials on the field signaled a first down … but officials in the replay booth challenged the spot. That caused an uproar on the Indianapolis sideline. Dungy had never seen that happen before, a replay challenging a spot in the final minutes.

Referee Gene Steratore reversed the call on the field and set up a fourth-and-1. The next play was, amazingly, even more bizarre and frustrating for the Colts.

Manning was on the field to run off clock time and try to draw the Chargers offside. As tight end Ben Utecht arose from a three-point stance, two other Colts started to motion to a new formation. Indy runs this play all the time, and according to Dungy, the league office said just last week that the Utecht type of shift was legal.

But it wasn't legal Sunday night, at least not to Steratore's officiating crew. Out came the false start flag

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