Referee Bill Leavy mistakenly penalized the Minnesota Vikings after coach Leslie Frazier tried to challenge a ruling on a muffed punt in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against Cleveland.
It was the second big miscue for Leavy’s crew in the season’s first three weeks.
When Browns punt returner Travis Benjamin muffed the punt, Vikings linebacker Larry Dean scooped the ball up and headed to the end zone. The officials correctly ruled the Vikings could not advance a muffed punt and awarded Minnesota the ball at the Cleveland 26.
Frazier threw the red flag to challenge. But NFL rules stipulate changes of possession can only be reviewed from the booth.
Leavy then issued a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
But a rule change this offseason - the so-called “Jim Schwartz rule” which was written after the Lions coach challenged a touchdown last season - says the Vikings should have been charged a timeout and not penalized the yardage.
“A timeout should have been charged instead of a 15-yard penalty,” Leavy told a pool reporter after the Browns beat the Vikings, 31-27.
The error proved costly for the Vikings. Instead of a first-and-10 at the Browns 26 with two timeouts and over two minutes remaining in the first half, the Vikings were pushed back to a firstand-25 at the Cleveland 41.
After three passes from Christian Ponder, they settled for a 43-yard field goal by Blair Walsh.
“It turned out to be a muff, which you can’t review,” Frazier said.
“Should’ve been a timeout (taken away), but they walked off 15. Not sure why.
But I can’t throw the red flag in that situation.”PICKING UP 6 TERENCE NEWMAN, Bengals, returned a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter of Cincinnati’s 34-30 win over Green Bay.
MAJOR WRIGHT/JULIUS PEPPERS, Bears. Wright returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown and Peppers returned a fumble 42 yards for a touchdown in Chicago’s 40-23 victory over Pittsburgh.
DARYL SMITH, Ravens, returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown in Baltimore’s 30-9 win over Houston.
DEANGELO HALL, Redskins, returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown in Washington’s 27-20 loss to Detroit.
M.D. JENNINGS, Packers (ASU), returned a fumble 24 yards for a touchdown in Green Bay’s 34-30 loss to Cincinnati.
QUICK HITS
Patriots QB Tom Brady extended his streak to 51 games with at least one scoring pass.
The Bengals became the first team to win after giving up 30 consecutive points since Sept. 12, 1999, when Dallas rallied to beat Washington 41-35 in overtime after the Redskins scored 32 unanswered points.
The Titans’ victory over the Chargers was the first for the franchise since 1992 when the team was in Houston, a span of nine games.
Seattle is 3-0 for the first time since 2006.
SUSPENDED
San Francisco linebacker Aldon Smith is taking an indefinite leave of absence to seek treatment, according to 49ers CEO Jed York. Smith, who started Sunday’s game and had 5 tackles against the Indianapolis Colts after being arrested a little more than 48 hours earlier on suspicion of drunken driving, won’t play in the 49ers’ game Thursday night at St. Louis. He issued a statement, admitting that he has a “problem.” His blood-alcohol content was 0.15 percent when he crashed into a tree in front of a house in San Jose, Calif.
SEASON OVER JASON JONES (DE, Lions) ruptured the patella tendon in his left knee in the second quarter of a 27-20 victory over the Washington Redskins and will miss the rest of the season.
INJURY UPDATE MILES AUSTIN (WR, Cowboys), hamstring vs. Rams, did not return.
CHRIS COOK (CB, Vikings), groin vs. Browns, left in first quarter.
VINCENT JACKSON (WR, Buccaneers), rib vs. Patriots, did not return.
A.J. JEFFERSON (CB, Vikings), ankle injury vs. Browns, did not return.
ANDRE JOHNSON (WR, Texans), ankle or foot injury vs. Ravens, did not play much in the second half.
LEODIS MCKELVIN (CB, Buffalo), hamstring vs. Jets, did not return.
C.J. SPILLER (RB, Buffalo), knee vs. Jets, finished with 10 rushes for 9 yards QUOTABLE “You never know how the cookie’s going to crumble, and it feels good that it crumbled our way this time,” Detroit cornerback Rashean Mathis on the Lions’ first road victory against the Redskins since 1935.
Sports, Pages 16 on 09/23/2013