NFL referee is carted off the field in scary scenes after colliding with 225lb player
In some scary scenes during Sunday’s game between the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an NFL referee had to be carted off the field after colliding with a player.
NFL referee Carl Paganelli had to be helped off the field of play after he was hit by Tampa Bay linebacker Vi Jones.
Jones tried to catch a ball thrown in from the sideline to get noticed when he collided with Paganelli.
Paganelli immediately went down and appeared to hold his lower leg.
That led to him being attended to by medical staff before being removed from the playing field.
It left the duty crew down to six men from the normal seven.
NFL referee Carl Paganelli was injured during the Panthers-Buccaneers game on Sunday
Paganelli collided with a Buccaneers player and had to be carted off the field
Paganelli is the only official since 2000 to appear in four Super Bowl games
Paganelli has been an official in the NFL since 1999 and has officiated nearly 400 games.
That includes 21 games in the playoffs – four of which are Super Bowls: Super Bowl XXIX (Patriots over Eagles), Super Bowl XLI (Colts over Bears), Super Bowl XLVI (Giants over Patriots in 2012) and Super Bowl XLVIII (Seahawks over Broncos).
Paganelli is the only official to have worked four different Super Bowls since 2000.
As for the match itself, the tricky back-and-forth affair between the two NFC South division rivals went to overtime with the score tied 23-23.
Embattled Carolina quarterback Bryce Young completed 25 of 44 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown that night. His counterpart, Baker Mayfield, managed just an 18-of-30 completion percentage for 185 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Young managed to score a touchdown and go up three points with 30 seconds left. Mayfield then drove down the field and set up a 51-yard field goal for kicker Chase McLaughlin as time expired.
McLaughlin was also the hero in overtime, drilling a 30-yard field goal to win the game 26-23.
Carolina (3-9) next travels to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. Tampa Bay (6-6) will host the Las Vegas Raiders.