The 49ers' late-game punt never would have happened if the Seattle Seahawks had been flagged for what appeared to be an obvious penalty before a fourth-down play.
“I’m sure if it was fourth-and-1, we would've gone for it,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday. “We also would've been in much easier field-goal range, too. So I know it wouldn't have been a punt.”
Instead, it was a fourth-and-6 situation from the Seattle 42-yard line after referee Brad Rogers appeared to give the Seahawks a reprieve with the 49ers leading 17-13.
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“They just — for lack of a better word — blew it,” FOX Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira said of the officiating Monday on KNBR.
The NFL has yet to respond to NBC Sports Bay Area’s request for comment or clarification.
After 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings was stopped inbounds after a 5-yard reception on third-and-11, Seattle coach Mike Macdonald called the team’s second timeout with 2:45 remaining in regulation.
Then, as the teams were lined up for the punt, a Seattle assistant coach approached line judge Kevin Codey, and Codey immediately stopped just prior to the snap.
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On TV, Macdonald appeared to react in frustration with the expected result being a 5-yard penalty. Later, Codey was shown speaking to Macdonald along the sideline while covering his mouth.
Pereira said he later had access to watch the all-29 film, which shows all 22 players and seven officials.
“It’s clear that Seattle asked for a timeout," Pereira said.
Because it was not the head coach who asked for the timeout and because teams are prohibited from asking for back-to-back timeouts without a play being run, Codey should have ignored the timeout request.
However, the NFL rule book states if a timeout is inadvertently granted, the timeout will stand. Moreover, when a team is inadvertently granted a second timeout during the same dead ball period, the timeout is charged and a 5-yard penalty is assessed.
Instead of a fourth-and-6 punt, the 49ers would have had a fourth-and-1 situation from the 37-yard line. The 49ers would have gone for it on fourth down or had Jake Moody attempt a 55-yard field goal.
In any case, the punt would not have happened.
Pat O’Donnell, filling in for injured Mitch Wisnowsky, sailed his punt into the end zone, giving Seattle possession at the 20-yard line with 2:38 remaining.
“It is a 5-yard penalty,” Pereira said. “Even if the official shouldn’t have stopped it, when he does, then it’s a 5-yard penalty. It’s a rule. To me, it’s one of those unforgivables.
“Judgment is judgment. Judgment is hard. Rule is not.”
Pereira is the former vice president of officiating in the NFL.
“When I ran the program, I never expected perfection when it came to judgment,” he said. “I expected perfection when it came to rules.
“Why did they rescind it (the timeout)? Because they were wrong.”
Shanahan said he saw a Seattle assistant coach across the field call a timeout. However, he got a different explanation from Rogers. Shanahan said he asked the referee how Seattle got two timeouts in a row.
“And they said that they didn’t,” Shanahan said. “They had to fix ... They alerted them with something that was wrong with something the refs were doing, and then they fixed it. But I thought they had timeouts because I thought I saw a guy run up there and call one.”
The Seahawks took advantage of their own mistake being ignored.
They drove 80 yards on 11 plays for the winning points. Quarterback Geno Smith scored on a 13-yard touchdown run with 12 seconds remaining for Seattle’s 20-17 victory.