NFL: Official didn't view Seahawk's bat as an 'overt' foul in controversial finish

Another Monday night in Seattle, another controversial ending.

The NFL's officiating crew botched the ruling on what appeared to be a remarkable game-clinching play in the Seattle Seahawks' 13-10 escape from the Detroit Lions.

Seahawks Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor punched the ball from the hands of Lions wideout Calvin Johnson as he was about to cross the goal line for the go-ahead score. The ball rolled through the end zone, and Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright deliberately tapped the ball over the back line, thinking the Seahawks would take possession on a touchback, which they did with 1:45 to go.

But it shouldn't have gone down that way.

"You can't bat the ball in any direction in the end zone. K.J. Wright batted the football, that is a foul for an illegal bat," NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said on NFL Network following the game.

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"The back judge was on the play. In his judgment, he didn't feel it was an overt act, so he didn't throw the flag. In looking at the replays, it did look like a bat. So the enforcement would be, basically we'd go back to the spot of the fumble, and Detroit would keep the football."

Blandino also admitted, "We have to make that call."

The Lions should have reclaimed the ball half the distance from the goal line, but that didn't happen. The play wasn't reviewable, either, since it came down to the back judge's assessment that Wright didn't intentionally bat the ball out of play.

"It's unfortunate, but you can't put the game in the referees' hands," Johnson said afterward.

Wright admitted that he believed he was making a cagey move, telling The Seattle Times: "I thought I was making a smart play."

Ironically, it occurred in the very same end zone where the Seahawks benefited from the Fail Mary play three years ago on the same Monday Night Football stage that marked the final game overseen by replacement officials.

On this night, the regular zebras weren't much better.

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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis