A missed facemask foul gave the Falcons a chance to tie the game late

Thursday night's thriller in Atlanta comes with a small asterisk. The Buccaneers were robbed of the chance to close the deal in regulation time due to an apparent missed facemask foul late in the fourth quarter.

There was still 1:39 left in the game and Tampa Bay led 30-27. After Kirk Cousins' only interception of the night seemingly put the Bucs in a position to put the game on ice, running back Bucky Irving gained seven yards on second and 13 yards from the Atlanta 31. A flag was pulled out, and it seemed to be the result of one obvious reaching for his face mask when he was attacked.

Instead, the Bucs were called to hold, forcing them out of field goal range and forcing them to face second-and-23 from the Atlanta 41.

The drive ended with a punt and the Falcons drove into position for the field goal that forced overtime.

The fouls should have evened out, and the Bucs got another hit on second-and-13. Nobody knows what would have happened next. Regardless, that's exactly what should have happened.

Officials make mistakes all the time. As the NFL expands the use of clear and obvious visual evidence, whether through formal replay review or replay support, this is the type of thing that must be correctable by simple and obvious visual evidence.

There is no subjectivity or ambiguity when wearing a face mask. The evidence is almost always clear and obvious.

That's an easy fix, especially as the league increasingly uses replay to make the right decisions. That's all anyone wants (right now except Falcons fans). Get the right calls. To do this, use playback. In an era of widespread legalized gambling, with the NFL closely linked to the house, it is more important than ever to minimize the impact of human error on the outcome of bets made by more and more people.

This one is easy. Put it at the top of the list of offseason rule changes. Facemask fouls are subject to replay assistance and replay review. It's long overdue.

And don't worry, Falcons fans. It won't affect the result tonight. Ultimately, it could save your team from something similar happening in the future.