Quinn Meinerz baffled by offsides call in Detroit

Quinn Meinerz was baffled Saturday night. And understandably so.

Michael Burton crossed the goal line with a touchdown run that would have put the Broncos back within two scores of the Detroit Lions late in the third quarter, and yet, a flag rested on the field.

“Yeah, I was confused. I don’t even know what the penalty was called,” Meinerz recalled after the 42-17 loss at Ford Field. “And so, that’s why I went up to the ref, and I was like, ‘What was the call, and who was it on?’ And he was like, ‘Offsides,’ and he pointed at me, and I was like, ‘Oh, OK,’ and I just went on with the next play, I guess.”

The next play was a Wil Lutz field-goal attempt. On the sideline, Sean Payton was livid. The next time the Broncos got the football, they trailed by four scores, and the game was effectively done.

It was an unexpected call. And one that arguably shouldn’t have been made, based on subsequent replays and freeze-frames that appeared to show Meinerz aligned in a legal position.

But in light of the controversy over the offsides call against Kansas City’s Kadarius Toney last week, it is one for which a player must watch out. Meinerz’s offensive-offsides call was the 16th assessed in the NFL this year.

Last year, only three were meted out.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever been called for lining up offsides,” he said.

Indeed, it’s rare. And for the Broncos, it hasn’t happened in a decade. Their last offensive-offsides call, according to NFLPenalties.com, came in 2012.

The rarity of the assessed infraction doesn’t make it any easier. Nor do the replays that show that the call appeared to be unwarranted.

“It’s unfortunate,” Meinerz said. “I really try to play penalty-free football, and so, it’s unfortunate that I got called for a penalty.”

It’s an unjustified blight on what has been a stellar season.