JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Indianapolis Colts felt like tight end Erik Swoope got out of bounds and the clock should have been stopped on the final play of their 6-0 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday.
The Colts had the ball on 3rd and 6 at Jacksonville’s 29-yard line with nine seconds remaining when quarterback Andrew Luck completed a pass to Swoope along the sideline. Replays appeared to show that Swoope landed out of bounds after being tackled by Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey, but the official along the sideline kept his arms moving to signal for the clock to continue moving. The Colts didn’t have enough time to get off another play.
“I thought he was out,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “That was a call that they made, but I sure thought he was out. I didn’t have one (challenge) so it was a moot point. I guess it’s not challenge-able because, if it was, all the replays come from the booth. They would have called for a replay and possibly rule him out, but they didn’t do that.”
Referee Alex Kemp told a pool reporter that it was a matter of Swoope being hit inbounds and driven backward on the play.
“When forward progress is stopped with contact and the player driven backward, the play is over at that point,” Kemp said. “… It doesn’t matter where he lands. It doesn’t matter if he drops the ball. It doesn’t matter what happens from that point. When he is contacted and driven backwards, the play is over.”
Many of the Colts coaches and players tried to plead their case after the play while Jacksonville players celebrated the end of their seven-game losing streak.
“That’s what the refs called,” Ramsey said. “I knew that I did chop his outside leg to keep him inbounds as best as I could and then I just got up and saw him whining, so I was happy.”
The loss ended the Colts’ five-game winning streak and hurt their chances of possibly making the playoffs with their 6-6 record.
“I turned and let my whole body go out of bounds,” Swoope said. “I looked at the replay and looked like everything was out of bounds. Was hoping to give us a chance to do something (on the final play).”