Thursday night’s thriller in Atlanta comes with a small asterisk. The Buccaneers were robbed of the chance to complete the deal in regulation with an apparent miss on a facemask foul late in the fourth quarter.

It happened with 1:39 to play and with Tampa Bay ahead, 30-27. After the only Kirk Cousins ​​interception of the night seemingly put the Bucs in position to ice the game, running back Bucky Irving gained seven yards on second and 13 from the Atlanta 31. A flag came out and it seemed to be the result of a clear grip of his face mask while he was being tackled.

Instead, the Bucs were called to hold, pushing them out of field goal range and forcing them onto second-and-23 from the Atlanta 41.

The drive ended in a punt and the Falcons drove into position for the field goal that forced the extra session.

The mistakes should have been compensated for, with the Bucs getting another crack at second-and-13. No one knows what would have happened next. Anyway, that should have happened.

Civil servants make mistakes all the time. As the NFL expands its embrace of clear and obvious visual evidence, whether through formal replay review or replay support, this is the kind of thing that needs to be corrected via the clear and obvious visual evidence.

There is no subjectivity or ambiguity when a face mask is pulled on. The evidence is almost always clear and obvious.

It’s an easy fix, especially as the league increasingly uses replay to get the right calls. That’s all anyone wants (except Falcons fans, right now). Make the calls properly. Use replay to do it. In an era of widespread legalized gambling, where the NFL is closely aligned with the home turf, it is more important than ever to minimize the impact of human error on the outcome of more and more people’s bets.

This one is easy. Put it at the top of the list for off-season rule changes. Facemask errors will be subject to replay assistance and replay review. It’s been a long time.

And don’t worry, Falcons fans. It won’t take away from tonight’s outcome. It could ultimately save your team from something similar in the future.