Apparently savvy clock move by Alex Smith confuses refs, leads to Washington field goal

Confusion reigned in the closing seconds of the first half of Monday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Football Team.

And an apparently savvy move by Alex Smith may have earned Washington a field goal.

With Washington driving with no timeouts while trailing 14-0, Smith was sacked by Stephon Tuitt as the game clock ran below 20 seconds. Washington was in field goal range at the Pittsburgh 31-yard line, but would have to rush its kicking team onto the field to beat the clock.

As Dustin Hopkins lined up for a kick, the clock ran down to zero, apparently signaling the end of the half. But the half wasn’t over.

‘Administrative issues’ lead to more time on clock

Referee John Hussey turned on his microphone to announce that “administrative issues” led to the clock winding down, and called for eight seconds to be put back on the clock. This whole time, the Washington field goal unit had time to collect itself and line up for a kick.

Did Alex Smith know what he was doing when he carried the football to the sideline against the Steelers? (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

The clock then started with eight seconds, and Hopkins sent the 49-yard field goal through the uprights for Washington’s first points of the game.

So, what just happened?

Fans, announcers and even Fox’s officiating expert Dean Blandino were all confused at what had just happened. Blandino gave his best effort to decipher the situation, explaining that in situations with running clocks like this one, officials don’t spot a K-ball, a football used specifically for kicking. They instead place the ball in play to be kicked as quickly as possible.

But that didn’t really explain what had just happened. Video replay of the aftermath of the third-down sack of Smith shed more light on the situation. After being sacked, Smith didn’t leave the football on the field. He carried it to the sideline as the kicking team took the field.

So there was no ball — K-ball or otherwise — on the field for officials to spot. So they used their discretion to stop the clock, which appeared to give the Washington kicking team enough time to set up for the successful field goal.

Did Smith — a 14-season NFL veteran — have all this planned out when he carried the ball off the field? Or did he just instinctively rush off the field with time winding down and forget to leave the ball in play?

Either way, the move helped Washington break onto the scoreboard.

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