To astute Detroit Lions fans, Anthony Hitchens’ name was synonymous with missed pass interference penalties even before Sunday’s controversial no call.
Hitchens was in coverage on a Matthew Stafford pass to Kerryon Johnson early in the third quarter of the Lions’ 34-30 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that fell incomplete at the goal line.
Hitchens was face-guarding Johnson on the play, and appeared to make contact with the Lions running back a split-second before the ball arrived.
Officials did not throw a flag for pass interference, and Lions coach Matt Patricia, after losing a challenge in the first quarter, did not ask for a replay review.
“I think that was pass interference,” Fox play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt said during the broadcast of the game.
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Lions fans booed loudly as a replay of the incomplete pass played on the Ford Field video board, and for Hitchens it was the second such controversial play he’s been a part of against the Lions.
In the 2014 playoffs, Hitchens, then with the Dallas Cowboys, was the linebacker in coverage on Brandon Pettigrew when officials threw, then picked up, a penalty flag for pass interference in the fourth quarter of the Lions’ wild card loss.
The Lions led, 20-17, at the time of the play, a third-and-1 from the Dallas 46-yard line, and would have had a first down in field-goal territory with just over 8 minutes to play had the penalty stood.
Instead, they punted on fourth down and the Cowboys drove 59 yards on the next possession for the go-ahead touchdown.
On Sunday, as in the playoff loss to the Cowboys, the Lions had ample opportunity to recover from the no-call on Hitchens.
J.D. McKissic broke a 26-run on the next play, and a facemask penalty on Xavier Williams gave the Lions a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Johnson fumbled one play later as he tried to stretch the ball across the goal line, and cornerback Bashaud Breeland picked up the loose ball and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown as Lions players watched unaware that the play was still alive.
“Biggest thing for us there is that we got to finish every play,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said. “It doesn’t matter when the ball’s out, we got to finish and we’ve got to stay focused, and we also got to take care of the ball. That’s a big part of it, so I’ve got to coach that better and I’ve got to make sure that everybody understands in those situations what we’ve got to do.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter.
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2019/09/30/detroit-lions-fans-anthony-hithens-pass-interference-no-call/3816796002/
2019-09-30 11:28:00Z
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