The Denver Broncos held off the Washington Commanders in a crazy Sunday Night Football game that went down to a two-point conversion attempt in overtime.
Cris Collinsworth: “They had a walk-in touchdown… They had the play called perfectly… If Mariota had it to do over again, he could have thrown it about as high as he wanted to. Because there was nobody there.”
The Broncos hold off the Commanders in OT. 🏈🎙️ #NFL #SNF pic.twitter.com/KqWDUEwIBL
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 1, 2025
Washington sent the game to overtime on a field goal from Jake Moody as time expired, but the Commanders were called for two penalties in a row earlier in the drive that left the NBC broadcasting crew questioning the officiating. Even rules analyst Terry McAulay, a former longtime NFL official, called out a penalty he completely disagreed with.
The NBC SNF crew disagreed with consecutive penalties against the Commanders on the final drive of regulation vs the Broncos.
Rules analyst Terry McAulay: “This is absolutely not (intentional) grounding, guys.” 🏈🦓🎙️ #NFL #SNF pic.twitter.com/lRzZhfqEGG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 1, 2025
The Commanders had the ball at the Denver 49-yard line with under two minutes remaining when officials flagged Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin for a false start on first down.
As NBC showed the replay, play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico and color commentator Cris Collinsworth were very confused by the call from the officiating crew, led by referee Land Clark.
“Is he not set for a second?” Tirico asked. “No, he is. Wow, I don’t know about that.”
“That’s not a foul,” Collinsworth said. “It’s really not.”
“Unless that’s the wrong number,” Tirico suggested.
“No, it’s right in front of the official, who blew it dead,” Collinsworth, a former star NFL wide receiver, responded. “You could see him running in. And yes, there was a moment where he got set, but I don’t think at this point in the game that’s a foul.”
That gave the Commanders first-and-15. And on the next play, Washington quarterback Marcus Mariota was flagged for intentional grounding on a pass downfield over the head of McLaurin. That 15-yard penalty gave Washington a second-and-25 to work with and also included a 10-second run-off of the clock.
“So, this is absolutely not grounding, guys,” McAulay told Tirico and Collinsworth. “He throws it over the head of No. 17, who is outside the numbers. By rule, that is not intentional grounding.”
The Commanders were still left with a golden opportunity to win in overtime, but maybe they would’ve gotten a game-winning touchdown instead of a field goal in regulation if poor officiating hadn’t left them with second-and-25 on the final drive. It’s just frustrating that we’re so frequently left with such questions on things out of the players’ control in the NFL.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.