It’s not often that I come away from a game between the Lions and the Bears upset about the ending, but in this contest that’s exactly how I felt, with the officiating crew stealing a late game touchdown and a victory from wide receiver Calvin Johnson and Detroit.

In case you missed it, allow me to recap the play for you. Down five points with about 30 seconds to play, the Lions offense was in sight of the end zone. Fill in quarterback Shaun Hill dropped back to pass and lofted the ball deep to the end zone, where Johnson was waiting. Leaping into the air, Johnson snagged the pass, careful to be sure that both of his feet landed in bounds before he slid to the turf to score what should have been the winning touchdown.

Then comes the insanity. While rolling out of his slide in the end zone, Johnson put the ball down in the end zone to stand up. The closest umpire immediately signaled touchdown, only to quickly be overruled by another official, who claimed that Johnson did not complete the catch and therefore the touchdown would be taken off the board. The Lions sideline, which had been euphoric only moments before, was now reduced to shock and then anger as the referee explained as much to the suddenly rejuvenated crowd in Soldier Field.

The play was reviewed shortly thereafter, and was summarily upheld, citing what has to be the single most asinine rule in professional sports. In putting the ball on the ground, Johnson caused an incompletion as he did not maintain possession throughout the entirety of the play according to the officials working the game. Apparently, getting both feet down before being hit by a defender and then sliding to the ground in the end zone does not constitute a fully completed catch any longer in the NFL.

After two more failed attempts to reach the end zone, the game was over, leaving Chicago the lucky benefactors of a horrible rule and the Lions, who have been snake bitten as a franchise for an eternity, were handed a defeat they did not deserve. While it’s easy to blame the officials who made the call, they’re not the ones who deserve our scorn, as they were simply following the rules as they’re currently written. It’s the NFL as a whole that should be ridiculed for this travesty, for not thinking this rule all the way through and allowing it to stay in place despite a clear need for clarification.

We can only hope that this rule is looked at closely in the off-season and the portions of it that make it absurd stricken from the books. Until then, we’ll have to see if it comes into play again this season.

Lost in all of this was the outstanding performance of Bears running back Matt Forte, who caught seven passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Forte seems comfortable in reprising the role former Rams RB Marshall Faulk played during his time with first year offensive coordinator Mike Martz, and should be a major threat out of the backfield as a receiver as the season wears on.

The other big headline was Lions quarterback Matt Stafford leaving the game in the first half with a shoulder injury that seems likely to keep him off the field for at least four weeks. Detroit’s medical staff will undoubtedly check Stafford out extensively this week, but any time missed has to be a major disappointment.

Here’s some of the reaction from around the league on this game… as always, feel free to leave any comments or thoughts you have at the end of the post.

NFL.com (Pat Kirwan) – Hard luck Lions get robbed by rule that defies logic

ESPN (Michael C. Wright) – Refs get it right on crucial call

Detroit Free-Press (Mitch Albom) – Forget late TD call, Lions lost Matt Stafford

NFL.com (Jason LaCanfora) – Lions fear Stafford may miss 4-6 weeks

Chicago Tribune (David Haugh) – After further review, call him Lucky Smith

Other posts you may enjoy:

1. Childress goes off on officials, Favre in loss to Packers