The whole "let them play" approach to officiating late in games only seemed to matter when it went against the Commanders on Sunday.Two plays after a controversial illegal formation penalty on Terry McLaurin erased a Washington touchdown against the Giants that would have set up a po sible game-tying 2-point conversion, officials mi sed Los Angeles Chargers T Shirts what looked to be a blatant pa s interference penalty on Darnay Holmes for his coverage of Curtis Samuel in the end zone.MORE: No pa s interference was called on this play NFL Unlimited (@NFLUnlimited) Had the penalty been called, the Commanders would have had a first-and-goal at the Giants' 1 with 48 seconds left in regulation. Instead, the Commanders turned the ball over on downs and the Giants kneeled out a 20-12 win to move ahead of Los Angeles Chargers Accessories Washington in the NFC playoff standings.Washington wasn't alone in believing that the play should have been a penalty. NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said during the broadcast it was "clearly a foul.""(Holmes) grabs (Samuel's) arm, he plays through the back, it's clearly before the ball gets there," McAulay said. "This is defensive pa s interference, and it really should be called whether it's the end of the game, beginning of the game, doesn't matter. It's always a foul and should have been called."MORE:Two plays earlier, the Commanders thought they had scored on a third-and-goal from the Giants' 1. Washington handed the ball to Brian Robinson Jr., who got the ball acro s the goal line, but McLaurin was called for lining up in the backfield and leaving the right tackle uncovered.A video replay appeared to show McLaurin asking the line judge before the play whether he was properly positioned to make sure he would not draw the penalty, only to have the flag thrown anyway.McLaurin checked in with the line judge! He got the all clear!WTF?! Chad Ryan (@ChadwikoTWW) Referee John Hu sey said in a pool report that he didn't see McLaurin check with the line judge, and said that Dustin Hopkins Jersey even if he did, the official does not need to let him know whether he's on the line. He only said that McLaurin was "clearly off the line of scrimmage.""What I was told and what has been confirmed is that the ball was snapped at the half-yard line, and he was lined up a yard back at the one-and-a-half-yard line," Hu sey said. "In order to be deemed legal he needs to break the belt line, the waist of the center, and he was not breaking the wasteline of the center. That's why the penalty was called, Derwin James Jersey because he was not in a legal formation."Pool report with referee John Hu sey. On the McLaurin penalty. Ben Standig (@BenStandig) MORE: During his postgame pre s conference, Commanders coach Ron Rivera flipped around a question about the McLaurin penalty by asking the reporter what they saw. When the reporter said it looked as if McLaurin had pointed to the line, Rivera responded: "That's exactly what I thought, too. Thank you."As for the pa s interference no-call, Rivera was visibly frustrated but did not want to answer the question."I mean, again, in fact, don't ask me about the refereeing, because I can Charlie Joiner Jersey 't answer the question," Rivera said.MORE: McLaurin told reporters after the game that he heard the official tell him he was good before the flag came out, ."I pride myself on paying attention to details," McLaurin said, .McLaurin's quarterback was similarly frustrated by the call."(The official) gives the thumbs-up to Terry. What the f is that?" Taylor Heinicke said, according to Hailey.