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A political view of the last play of the Falcons’ 30-26 win over the Lions

Golden Tate of the Lions catches the ball as Brian Poole of Falcons touches him and Tate's knee hits the ground during the fourth quarter at Ford Field on Sunday in Detroit. The play was originally ruled a touchdown with eight second left in the game. but was overturned after the officials viewed the play. With an ensuing 10-second runoff, the Falcons scored a 30-26 victory.
Golden Tate of the Lions catches the ball as Brian Poole of Falcons touches him and Tate's knee hits the ground during the fourth quarter at Ford Field on Sunday in Detroit. The play was originally ruled a touchdown with eight second left in the game. but was overturned after the officials viewed the play. With an ensuing 10-second runoff, the Falcons scored a 30-26 victory.
By Matt Winkeljohn
Sept 25, 2017

The Falcons outlasted the Lions Sunday in Detroit, hanging on for a 30-26 win when the final play of the game was originally ruled a touchdown for the hosts only to be overturned on video review.

Detroit fans were surely crushed, and Atlanta fans relieved, after wide receiver Golden Tate was ruled to have come down short of the goal line. As there were eight seconds left on the clock, and the Lions had no timeouts, a mandatory 10-second runoff on the clocked ended the game to leave the Falcons 3-0 and the Lions 2-1.

One fan used a photos of the play for a meme following the protests of many NFL players to kneel during the national anthem in protest. Tate was among Detroit players to take a knee.

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Matt Winkeljohn
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