Clete Blakeman signed up for 60 minutes and not a second more.
The NFL referee inserted himself into the spotlight with a pair of bloopers towards the end of the NFL Germany game. It appeared the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons were destined for overtime, but Michael Penix Jr. had one last shot in regulation.
After Penix was flagged for intentional grounding, Blakeman’s crew had a tough time explaining, and executing, the 10-second runoff. The penalty ultimately ended regulation. While they eventually figured that out, the confusion spilled over into overtime.
Before the coin toss, Blakeman gestured to the Colts for them to call it. Indianapolis is the designated home team in Berlin, which means Atlanta should’ve had that privilege. Naturally, the Colts won the toss and were primed to start overtime with the ball.
Luckily for Blakeman, they corrected the snafu before overtime kicked off and the Falcons ended up with the ball first.
Penix and co. failed to capitalize on that possession, handing it right back to Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis offense. The Colts managed to march right down the field to win the game with a Jonathan Taylor touchdown.
The NFL’s new overtime rules made Blakeman’s error a little less impactful than it would’ve been under the old version. Both teams now have the chance to possess the ball in the extra session, meaning you can’t win the game without letting the other team have a chance to score.
Of course, there is a clock component, but luckily for everyone involved, none of that managed to become an issue.
In Blakeman’s defense, both teams were a long way from home. It won’t prevent him from ending up the blooper reels though.