The first half of Sunday’s wild-card game between the Jaguars and Bills was a hard-hitting battle, but its final sequence was notable not for its big hits but rather its puzzling officiating.
The Jaguars were deep in their own territory, but with kicker Cam Little already holding the two longest kicks in NFL history, there was no doubt they’d try to push and get close enough to midfield to at least give him a shot at the uprights.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence took a snap with 15 seconds on the clock and found wide receiver Parker Washington over the middle to get past midfield. Jacksonville was out of timeouts, sending the entire offense sprinting up to attempt to spike the ball, and the Bills defense did their best to hold up Washington and extend the time of the play.
The Jaguars lined up before the Bills were able to get set and snapped the ball, but it appeared that the clock had already hit triple zeroes. But after an extended conversation between the officials, it was determined that Lawrence got the snap off in time, and that the Bills were offsides on the snap, moving Little’s field goal attempt five yards closer.
It’s extremely close, feel free to judge the play for yourself here.
Jaguars raced to get into field goal range before the half
— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2026
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Little, one of the best kickers in football this year, uncharacteristically missed the ensuing attempt, making the officials’ decision to award the final play to the Jags moot. But media and fans alike were still perplexed by the sequence, and the somewhat confusing explanation from the refs after such a long conference.
The NFL has to be much clearer about what's happening in a situation like that. Public confidence in officiating is vital. If NY reviewed that, tell us. If you need to review, do it. But refs conferencing for that long, and getting it wrong ...
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 11, 2026
Whole thing looked amateurish.
I have no clue how the Jaguars got a play there. It was clearly expired https://t.co/SLX3hXyp8z
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) January 11, 2026
Fire these refs into the sun... also: ball don't lie https://t.co/86FbuIEmn9
— Roy Burton (@TheBSLine) January 11, 2026
They didn’t get the snap off
— Maggie Gray (@MaggieGray) January 11, 2026
Someone tell the refs it’s not illegal to call a penalty on the home team
Good thing Cam Little missed that kick there is no way Jacksonville got the snap off in time lol
— Jeremy (@JeromeyR0me) January 11, 2026
Unreal. What a screw job by the officials. That's criminal. They did not snap the ball in time
— Sal Maiorana (@salmaiorana) January 11, 2026
It’s probably for the best that Little missed the kick, because if it had gone through and later proved to be the difference in the game, there would be plenty of awkward questions for the league in the coming days.
The sequence should still prompt those awkward questions, but ultimately, the call didn’t have an effect on the final outcome, which is a relief.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Fans Left Puzzled After Jaguars Appear to Get Extra Play in First Half vs. Bills.
