Adam Thielen claims refs robbed Panthers against Packers, suggests Green Bay favored by officials
Adam Thielen has made a bold claim of partial officiating in the Carolina Panthers' 30-33 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Late in the game, with both teams tied at 30 apiece, Jordan Love found Romeo Doubs for a massive 36-yard catch that set up the game-winning field goal by Anders Carlson.
The game ended when the Panthers, already out of timeouts, ran out of time attempting to complete their final drive.
After the game, Adam Thielen, who had six grabs for 94 yards, cast doubts on the validity of Doubs' play, alleging favoritism. He said (via New York Post):
"I saw the whole play, I saw a catch, and then ball moving as he's going to the ground ball moves, controls that again, hits the ground and then loses again. So in my opinion, you know the ball moved twice, two different times so there really wasn't enough time to control the ball... That's kind of what you get when you play the Packers."
Top NFL executive discusses controversial play that made Adam Thielen allege favoritism toward Packers, as well as Panthers' last snap
Whether one thinks Adam Thielen is just bitter at losing another game or not, his argument may have some value.
After the game, NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Walt Anderson was briefed by The Athletic's Joe Person about Romeo Doubs' catch. Anderson explained (via New York Post) that the ball could still touch the ground, yet a catch be called if no definitive proof of loss of control existed.
“We actually did see the ball touch the ground, but we also saw that he had control of the ball in his left hand. The left hand never came off the ball and there were no available shots that show that he actually lost control of the ball in his left hand even though the ball touched the ground.”
Regarding the Panthers' abortive final drive, wherein Adam Thielen failed to give the referee the ball after a reception, leading Bryce Young to spike the ball too late to stop the clock, Anderson said:
"What they ruled was that the ball was snapped with one on the clock, but by the time the ball hit the ground, they had zero. And they asked us if we could confirm that and we did, that in fact the clock actually went to zero just as it was leaving the quarterback’s hand, so it was clearly at zero when it hit the ground.”
The Packers next face the Minnesota Vikings in a crucial divisional rivalry game, while the Panthers will look to further spoil the Jacksonville Jaguars' bid for a second straight AFC South title.