On a fourth down play in the fourth quarter, a play that could have given the New York Giants their third win of the season on the third Sunday of December instead ended with a crucial no call. It was a decision that Giants rookie tight end Evan Engram called “obvious” after the game.
Engram felt that his arm was held late in the fourth quarter, a throw on fourth down from quarterback Eli Manning after the Giants had pieced together a drive into the red zone. Had it been a touchdown pass, it would have given the Giants the lead in a game they eventually lost 34-29 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
With the loss, the Giants dropped to 2-12 on the year.
Following the game, Engram was adamant that pass interference or defensive holding should have been called on Eagles defensive back Corey Graham on the throw at the back of the end zone. There clearly was contact on the play but it is unclear if the contact altered Engram’s ability to make the catch.
“I thought it was definitely defensive pass interference,” Engram said. “Fourth down, it was really obvious, but there was no call.”
Engram still had a solid game for the Giants, the rookie tight end seems to have rebounded after a couple of rough games recently. He had eight catches for 87 yards but no touchdown catches.
He thinks that one throw should have been six points, something backed up by the arguing done by teammates Sterling Shepard and Roger Lewis Jr. with the referees to get the call.
“Yeah, I think it was just really obvious that that should’ve been defensive pass interference,” Engram said. “Those guys are really emotional, but it was definitely really obvious that there should’ve been a flag, but the ref didn’t see it. Those guys played their hearts out and they’re really emotional and we felt like we should’ve got that call.”
