The Lions gained 3 yards, not 2 yards or 1 1/2 yards, on their third-to-last play in Sunday's 20-13 loss to the Bears — because Kenny Golladay said so. And game umpire Mark Pellis apparently was cool with it.
The Detroit wide receiver, in a hurry as the clock was winding with under 20 seconds left in the game, spotted the ball himself after making a catch. He appeared to be down at the Bears' 26-yard line or 27-yard line, depending on how one viewed his forward progress, but he put the ball down on the right hash at the 25. Pellis picked up the ball and put it back down, taking away maybe an inch or two from Golladay's original spot.
Watch the sequence, captured by Twitter user @Kennedys75.
Gotta love Galloday spotting himself an extra yard and a 1/2 on this play and the ref co-signing it. #Bears #Lions pic.twitter.com/Vxg8jG9Lph
— Kennedy 7️⃣5️⃣ (@Kennedys75) November 10, 2019
Scientific.
Lions quarterback Jeff Driskel, who was playing Sunday in place of the injured Matthew Stafford, spiked the ball to kill the clock as soon as Pellis backed away from the line of scrimmage. Detroit's last-second Hail Mary fell incomplete.
So Golladay's inaccurate spot didn't matter. It was still amusing.
Pellis, for what it's worth, is in his sixth year as an NFL official. He is assigned to referee Carl Cheffers' crew in 2019.