:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71416970/usa_today_19118642.0.jpg "Bucs two-point conversion delay of game: Did a play-clock screwup ruin Tampa's chances of tying Packers?")
Sunday's Week 3 matchup between the Green Bay Packers Tampa Bay Buccaneers wasn't the duel between two old gunslingers that many expected, but it did have a dramatic ending.
Trailing by eight with 3:04 left in the contest, Tom Brady did his usual late-game heroics and marched the Bucs' offense downfield for a clutch touchdown within the final minute. After getting backed up by a delay of game penalty on the initial two-point conversion attempt, Brady's subsequent pass to Russell Gage went incomplete, allowing for the Packers to escape with a 14-12 victory.
But wait, what was the deal with that delay of game penalty?
According to Greg Auman of The Athletic and Bucs fans on social media with a watchful eye, the clock operator at Raymond James Stadium may have screwed this up by putting five less seconds on the play clock.
Bucs fans here and on Reddit have pointed out that play clock before Tampa Bay's initial two-point conversion attempt was only 20 seconds, not the 25 listed in the NFL rule book for before a two-point conversion. Only 20 seconds elapse from whistle to clock hitting zero.
– Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 26, 2022