18-Second Clock Error Reportedly Made Before Final Steelers vs. Chargers Drive

The Pittsburgh Steelers won their Monday night showdown with the San Diego Chargers in the most dramatic fashion possible, but it apparently didn't have to be such a nail-biter of a finish.

Le'Veon Bell reached the ball over the goal line as time expired to clinch the 24-20 victory. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin elected to go for the win on the game's final play instead of kicking the tying field goal, but former Vice President of Officiating and current Fox Sports analyst Mike Pereira noted the Steelers should have had more time to make a decision:

The kickoff occurred after the Chargers took the lead with a 54-yard field goal, and 18 seconds ticked off from the end of the touchback to Pittsburgh's first snap. Jason Vida of ESPN captured a look at the box score:

NFL Vice President of Football Communications Michael Signora provided a statement on the situation, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport: 

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report weighed in on how the league will respond to the error:

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk pointed out the clock was running while Steelers quarterback Michael Vick was walking onto the field for the final drive, and the officials and television broadcasters failed to notice. Florio provided more context:

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Either way, it would have been a major mess for the NFL if the Steelers had failed to score on the final drive due to the clock running out. It should still be a mess for the league and ESPN, because someone should have noticed it and done something about it before the Steelers took their first snap after the kickoff.

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The NFL and its officials also found themselves in the middle of controversy during the Week 4 Monday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. Calvin Johnson fumbled at the 1-yard line, and Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright batted the ball out the back of the end zone.

The Seahawks were rewarded the ball after the touchback, but Wright should have been penalized for illegal batting. That would have given the Lions the ball back inside the 1-yard line down 13-10.

At least Bell found the end zone Monday and prevented game-altering mistakes from completely overshadowing Monday Night Football in back-to-back weeks.