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NFL Admits Costly Referee Error After Browns Suffer Season-Ending Setback

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Rowan Fisher-Shotton | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 2:56 PM ET

On the Cleveland Browns’ fourth snap in the team's 13-10 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, starting offensive tackle Dawand Jones went down after Green Bay safety Javon Bullard dove at his legs.

Jones’s knee hyperextended on the play and, after imaging, the Browns announced he’ll miss the season and require surgery.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed the severity of the injury on Monday and said the team will send the play to the NFL for review, as league rules bar defenders from initiating contact below the waist on an offensive player who is outside the tight end box.

The Browns received confirmation on Friday, as ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi reported the NFL telling Stefanski that the play "should have been penalized."

Not only was the play not penalized, but Cleveland will be without its starting left tackle for the rest of the year.

Stefanski said the NFL told the team that the play should have been penalized. https://t.co/GwCaYxWTUf
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) September 26, 2025

This isn’t the first high-profile instance where a missed on-field call drew league attention later on.

The Los Angeles Rams-New Orleans Saints NFC Championship Game pass interference no-call in 2018 prompted league admissions and fines; similarly, in a 2015 "Monday Night Football" game, the NFL’s officiating office acknowledged an illegal "bat" from former Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright that went uncalled.

Those episodes led to fines, policy clarifications and public debate about accountability for game officials.

The league has also recently fined players after games for hits that were not flagged during play; 16 fines were dished out in Week 1 of the 2025 season (.63% of all plays), 19 fines in Week 2 (.73%).

As for Cleveland, Jones’ surgery and IR status force a reconfiguration of the offensive line, as 34-year-old veteran Cornelius Lucas remains the most likely replacement at left tackle.

The Browns' reconfigured offensive line will face a big challange on Sunday as the team travels to Ford Field to take on Aidan Hutchinson and the Detroit Lions, who are allowing just 99 rushing yards per game (11th in the NFL).

To make matters worse, the Lions (-600) are 10.5-point favorites with a 44.5-point over/under, per ESPN BET, giving Cleveland an implied point total of just 17 points, a total they've reached just once in the last three games.

Cleveland (1-2) visits Detroit (2-1) at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on Fox.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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