NFL says inadvertent whistle in Patriots-Bills was mistake

The NFL is doing about all it can to concede the incorrect call was made during one of many controversial plays Monday night between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills.

Addressing a third-quarter play in which an inadvertent whistle took away a potential touchdown from the Patriots, NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino explained that the call was indeed an error.

"Line judge lost track of the football, blew his whistle inadvertently," Blandino said Monday in an appearance on NFL Network, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN. "It was a mistake. Whistle shouldn't have been blown."

The whistle required that the play be blown dead at the spot where Danny Amendola hauled in a pass from Tom Brady, effectively wiping out what appeared certain to be an extended run after the catch.

Though a 15-yard penalty was tacked on after the Buffalo sideline was flagged for interfering with an official, the Patriots were unable to come away with points before being forced to punt.

New England eventually went on to close out its 10th win of the season, rendering the play in question somewhat irrelevant, but the game didn't end without further controversy.

The Bills were denied a final shot at the end zone after a side judge ruled that Sammy Watkins did not get out of bounds to stop the clock with seconds to play.

Referee Gene Steratore explained after the game that the official who made the call believed Watkins had voluntarily given himself up in the field of play, and was thus down by contact.