Browns' Thomas still irked by fumble call: Refs 'lie till you die'

NFL officials miss calls all the time, but there's one mysterious fumble by Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson his team won't forget.

On Monday, the league ruled there was wasn't enough visual evidence to reverse the fumble called on the field Sunday against the Washington Redskins, but left tackle Joe Thomas still can't get over it.

"After kind of watching some of the replays and talking to the guys on Washington and talking to Duke, basically the ball hit the ground, bounced right back to Duke," Thomas said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Pat McManamon.

Johnson was ruled to have fumbled, but cameras showed him with the ball following the play. Thomas believes the Redskins tricked officials into calling the fumble their way.

"When the Washington player tried to scoop it, he got air," said Thomas. "Then he just ... I don't know if because I was on top of him, he was laying there acting like he had the football, or because he was laying there acting like he had the football, Josh Norman jumped on him and the refs saw the posture of two Redskins cradling nothing on the ground and me trying to go after that nothing that (line judge Sarah Thomas) just assumed that the Redskins must have the ball even though Duke had the ball in his hands. I think if she would have just looked over and saw Duke with the ball it would have been a different story.

"At that point when you're an official, you've just got to go with whatever you're going with and lie till you die at that point."

Thomas made the comments with a bit of a smirk, but a serious tone in his voice. He admitted he too was initially tricked by Washington linebacker Will Compton "acting like he had the ball."

The Browns were down 24-10 at the time and eventually lost 31-20, but the Redskins didn't score on the ensuing drive.