Referee Brad Allen's admission that the Panthers 'could have had a choice' to re-play a backward pass has sparked debate. In the Panthers-Buccaneers game, a backward pass hit the ground, was picked up by Rico Dowdle, and was blown dead. Initially, Allen mistakenly ruled the ball out of bounds, but it was clearly incomplete. The Panthers continued the drive at the spot of the recovery, giving them second and 17 from the Tampa Bay 41. After the game, Allen explained that the line judge initially ruled incomplete, but the down judge saw the pass was backward. Allen added that replay assist was not used, and the ruling was made on the field. When asked about an erroneous whistle, Allen stated that the Panthers could have had a choice to replay the down. However, the Panthers did not choose to re-play first and 10 from the 34 in lieu of second and 17 from the 41, suggesting that the option was not presented to them. The league office could have intervened, reminding Allen of the Panthers' right to re-play, but this did not happen. The drive ended with a 54-yard field goal attempt that came up short, and the game was decided by two points. This failure to give the Panthers first and 10 from the Tampa 34 may have impacted the game's outcome and the NFC South champion's resolution, if the Saints beat the Falcons on Sunday.
