There was no shortage of controversy during last night's game between the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans in Mexico City. Whether it be the laser pointer directed into Brock Osweiler‘s eyes or a number of questionable calls by the officials, the Texans weren't happy with the dynamics surrounding the game itself.

Houston was on the wrong end of a number of question spots in the fourth quarter with the ball in the red zone, but the play that drew the most scrutiny came in the first quarter.

Osweiler threw a pass toward the sideline to DeAndre Hopkins, who proceeded to turn up the field for what appeared to be a 60-yard touchdown. However, officials called Hopkins out at the 36-yard line.

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien threw out his challenge flag, but because plays whistled dead aren't reviewable, no challenge occurred.

The first replays shown by ESPN seemed to indicate that Hopkins never stepped out:

Not so fast

Other angles weren't so conclusive:

Rather than outwardly criticize the officials, O'Brien's post-game comments focused on all of the technology available to the NFL, and how it should aid the league in avoiding controversial situations like this.

From NFL.com's Around the NFL staff:

“Was Hopkins out of bounds on that play? No,” O'Brien said. “So like, look, I'm not going to sit up here and get fined, I'm just a third-year coach in the NFL. But I think we really got to look at all of those things. You know, we got all of these cameras, and we can't get that right. And I don't think Hopkins was out of bounds …”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
GM Nick Caserio in the middle, Kamari Lassiter, Javon Bullard, Michael Hall Jr around him, and Houston Texans wallpaper in the background

Enzo Flojo ·

It won't make O'Brien or the Texans feel any better, but the NFL's vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said that even if the call was reviewable, there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the call:

“The heel (right foot) appears to be in the white,” Blandino said of Hopkins' run. “It's not right down the line, so it's not definitive, but we certainly can't say that he's obviously in-bounds from this angle … it's not definitive either way.”

Here's the full video with Blandino's comments: