Lions Fall to Steelers in Wild Finish as Controversial OPI Call Ends Game
The Detroit Lions' playoff hopes took a major hit Sunday - and it happened in one of the most chaotic finishes you’ll see all season.
Trailing 29-24 in the final seconds at Ford Field, the Lions appeared to have pulled off a miracle. On fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line, wide receiver Amon-Ra St.
Brown caught a short pass and, as he was being wrapped up short of the goal line, made a last-ditch lateral to quarterback Jared Goff, who dove into the end zone. Touchdown.
Game-winner. Ford Field erupted.
But the celebration didn’t last long.
A flag on the field signaled offensive pass interference against St. Brown, wiping the touchdown off the board and ending the game in gut-wrenching fashion for Detroit.
Referee Carl Cheffers, in his 26th season officiating in the NFL, explained the ruling over the stadium PA system: “By rule, that penalty is not enforced and there is no replay, the game is over. There is no touchdown. OPI on number 14 negates the play, there is no replay, the game is over.”
Just like that, the Lions were handed a 29-24 loss - and a serious blow to their postseason hopes.
The replay showed St. Brown clearly extending his arms to create separation before the catch - a textbook offensive pass interference call.
But the timing and the stakes made it especially brutal. With no time left on the clock, the penalty didn’t just negate the touchdown - it ended the game outright.
No second chance. No final snap.
Just stunned silence, followed by a chorus of boos from the home crowd.
On the CBS broadcast, Jim Nantz’s reaction said it all: “Whoa, whoa.”
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who had a front-row seat to the madness, summed it up in one word during his postgame interview with CBS’ Tracy Wolfson: “Chaos.”
And this wasn’t the first time in the game the Lions were burned by an OPI call. Earlier in the fourth quarter, St. Brown hauled in what looked like a go-ahead touchdown, only to have it taken off the board due to a penalty on rookie wideout Isaac TeSlaa for - you guessed it - offensive pass interference.
Those two calls proved to be the difference in a game the Lions desperately needed to win. Now sitting at 8-7, Detroit’s playoff odds have plummeted to just 6% with two games remaining on the schedule. Their next shot to keep the season alive comes quickly - a Christmas Day showdown against the Minnesota Vikings.
For a team that’s shown flashes of grit and growth all season, this loss will sting. Not just because of the result, but because of how close they came to pulling off something special - only to see it erased in an instant.