Joe Philbin loses two challenges less than two minutes into Packers coaching debut
Philbin challenged two of the first four plays and lost both times
After an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week, the Green Bay Packers fired Mike McCarthy. McCarthy's replacement is offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, who will serve as interim coach for the remainder of the year. If his first drive is any indication, things are not going to go very well.
On the second play of the Packers' game against the Falcons on Sunday, Matt Ryan dropped back to pass and found Julio Jones streaking up the right sideline. Jones caught the ball but had it knocked away by Packers corner Jaire Alexander as he went to the ground. Check the play here:
Julio Jones and Jaire Alexander will be a fun matchup to watch all day.
— Steve Frederick (@_SteveFrederick) December 9, 2018
This 28-yard reception by Jones with Jaire covering is currently under review. pic.twitter.com/8TrweAlnRf
That's a pretty close call, so Philbin threw his challenge flag. The ruling on the field was a catch, though, and the officials said there was not enough evidence to overturn and rule it an incomplete pass.
Two plays later, Matt Ryan dropped back to pass and found Julio Jones coming back toward the left sideline. Jones caught the ball and did some fancy footwork to keep both feet in bounds. Check the play here:
We're at it again. Another Julio Jones reception with Jaire Alexander in coverage is being challenged. pic.twitter.com/t5N8Wr3xxy
— Steve Frederick (@_SteveFrederick) December 9, 2018
That's a pretty close call, so Philbin once again threw the challenge flag. The ruling on the field was a catch, though, and the officials said there was not enough evidence to overturn and rule it an incomplete pass.
And so, one minute and 23 seconds into the game, Joe Philbin had run himself out of challenges, robbed the Packers of two timeouts, and (obviously) drew the scorn of NFL Twitter.
Packers interim coach Joe Philbin has used both challenges in the first 1 minute, 23 seconds of debut. Both rulings stand.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) December 9, 2018
Joe Philbin is out of challenges... 1:23 INTO THE GAME.
— Master (@MasterTes) December 9, 2018
WHAT.
Mike McCarthy: I'm not great at coaching
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) December 9, 2018
Joe Philbin: Hold my beer
Oh, and the Packers gave up a touchdown to Julio Jones later in the drive. So that didn't work out too well for them. Hopefully for Philbin's sake (and that of the Packers), they get things together the rest of the way. It's tough to imagine things getting any worse, anyway.
















