​Now, before I start this piece: yes, I understand that these two calls were not the only things that cost the Eagles the game against Detroit. The offense needed to get off to a better start, and there were quite a few missed opportunities.





That being said, the officiating crew ruined this game for Philly. Not only were there penalties horrifically outbalanced in favor of Detroit, but they also blew two pivotal calls late in the game that cost the Eagles dearly.





First, the Ryan Mathews fumble, which of course is Mathews' fault for fumbling. However, the ball should never have been able to be recovered by the Lions, because according to NFL rules, it was out of bounds after Jason Kelce hit it with his ankle while his hand was on the sideline.

Looked like Jason Kelce did touch the ball while he was out of bounds on Ryan Mathews' fumble. pic.twitter.com/JQPDLmgzTY — Josh Paunil (@JoshPaunil) October 9, 2016

​​According to NFL rules, when a player touches the ball while he is out of bounds, the ball is also out of bounds, thus blowing the play dead.





We've already seen this rule used cleverly once this season by the Packers on a kick off.

Ty Montgomery made a brilliant play on a kickoff.



Here's why pic.twitter.com/jhJo6zGM9K — Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) September 25, 2016

So how the officials miss this on the replay is beyond me.





Now for the second call: a incredibly obvious defensive hold on the last Eagles offensive play of the game, Carson Wentz's first interception.





Once again, allow me to first explain that there is no reason that ball should have been thrown. The Eagles had plenty of time to drive down the field and get in field goal range, so there's no reason they should have went for it all on the first play.





That being said, this is quite clearly either pass interference or defensive holding. ​​

"I think he was held", Rhea Hughes on Nelson Agholor in the final play of the game. Here are the pictures she showed Angelo on the show. pic.twitter.com/KHLceJtqQC — WIP Morning Show (@WIPMorningShow) October 10, 2016

​​There's still no explanation from the NFL's VP of Officiating Dean Blandino, despite countless Twitter mentions from Eagles fans. At some point, he'll have to answer.





It's just one loss, but it looks like it probably shouldn't have been.

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