3. Phantom illegal formation penalty on Terry McLaurin
This one is going to haunt the Commanders for a while, especially if they miss out on the postseason, which is now expected. Late in the 4th quarter, Washington was facing 3rd and goal from the one yard line. Brian Robinson Jr. received the handoff from Heinicke and lowered his shoulder into the end zone.
This was supposed to put Washington in a position to tie the game. However, laundry hit the field and everything was wiped away. Wideout Terry McLaurin was flagged for illegal formation, but on multiple occasions it looked like he looked to the side judge to confirm he was good. In the end, he wasn’t, and the TD was called back. Just brutal.
Terry McLaurin looks at the ref asking if he’s good - ref points back at McLaurin as of to indicate he’s good. McLaurin then gives a thumbs up to ref to acknowledge it. This “penalty” took a Brian Robinson TD off the board. Via @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/B86N6nsJsS
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) December 19, 2022
After the game, McLaurin said that he looked to the side judge and felt he was given the green light that he was in the clear. It was just a miscommunication we guess, as the flag was thrown shortly after the ball was snapped. With the five-yard penalty too, it pushed the Commanders back to the six yard line, making their task tougher to try and even the score.