Controversial play allows Seattle to beat Detroit 13-10

SEATTLE (AP) — Kam Chancellor punched the ball free from Detroit wide receiver Calvin Johnson at the 1-yard line when it appeared the Lions were going to take the lead, and the Seattle Seahawks held on for a 13-10 win on Monday night.

With Detroit on the verge of capping a 91-yard drive with the go-ahead touchdown with less than 2 minutes remaining, Chancellor came from the side and punched the ball from Johnson's arm as he was being tackled by Earl Thomas.

The ball bounded into the end zone and went over the back line for a touchback and Seattle's ball at the 20.

Russell Wilson was sacked six times and pulled numerous escape acts, but threw a TD pass to Doug Baldwin in the first half and Steven Hauschka hit a pair of field goals from 50-plus yards as Seattle evened its record at 2-2.

According to retired NFL official Gerry Austin on ESPN, the NFL rule book defines what happened as an "illegal bat play" which involved Seattle's K.J Wright batting the ball out of the end zone after the fumble.

If Wright tapped the ball out of the end zone intentionally, the ball should have gone back to the Lions "half the distance to the goal line." This would have placed the ball on the 6-inch line. 

Dean Blandino, NFL VP of officiating called it a "judgement call" in a statement that was released to ESPN.

"The back judge felt it wasn't overt," he said about Wright's batting play. "That's why he didn't call it on the field."

The Lions are 0-4 for the first time since 2010.

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Tim Booth, Associated Press, contributed to this report.

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