Tramon Williams Says NFL Admitted He Wasn't Offside on Missed FG vs. Chargers

NFL officials aren't making any friends this week. After the Detroit Lions lost a game on an incorrect call, Cleveland Browns cornerback Tramon Williams is saying the NFL admitted it wrongly called him offside during his team's Week 4 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. 

Williams told Mary Kay Cabot of Northeast Ohio Media Group that the league told the Browns he was not offside on San Diego's game-winning field-goal attempt. With the game knotted at 27, kicker Josh Lambo missed the initial chance but was given a reprieve due to the offside call. He hit the ensuing attempt that gave San Diego a 30-27 win. 

Cabot's tweet to her article shows Williams at the time of the snap:    

NFL Vice President of Football Communications Michael Signora emailed Cabot, saying Williams' statements were false. 

"The video we have is inconclusive because we do not have a shot from the line of scrimmage,'' Signora said. "The person with the best view was the line judge who made the call on the field.''

While the Browns did not release a statement on the situation, Williams spoke with Cabot about the possibility of the officials missing the call: "I just move so much faster than everybody else. I can see where the referees would miss that. It's explanatory. Guys make mistakes. At the end of the day you just hope that we can get judgment at the end of the game, maybe review or whatever it may be."

For now, Williams has to focus on helping his Browns dig out of the bottom of the AFC North, as they are tied with the Baltimore Ravens with a 1-3 record.

But the fact that the NFL had to explain a pair of game-changing decisions in the same week is not a good look for its officials. While the Browns don't exactly look like a postseason-caliber team, a blown call in crunch time could carry enough weight to wreck a team's postseason chances down the road.