The Detroit Lions faced improbable odds in the final drive of their 20-19 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Down 20-13 with 1:41 remaining, quarterback Jared Goff engineered a touchdown drive, only for Taylor Decker’s potential game-winning two-point conversion to be nullified by a penalty.
Goff was nearly perfect on the drive, covering 75 yards on 9 plays and capping it off with an 11-yard touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown with 23 seconds remaining. Still down 20-19, Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell decided to roll the dice by going for a game-winning two-point attempt.
Detroit had seemingly drawn up the perfect play, with Decker left wide open for the successful two-point try to take a 21-20 lead. Only, the points were wiped off the board because Decker was flagged Decker for illegal touching.
“Two people can’t report. I don’t want to talk about it. I explained everything pregame to a tee.”
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell on the call against Taylor Decker
While ESPN’s rules analyst agreed with the call and said two other flags could’ve been called, including illegal formation. However, neither was flagged by Saturday’s officiating crew. As Campbell argued the gall, ESPN’s footage seemed to contradict claims that Decker didn’t report as eligible.
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Moments before the play begins, Decker can be seen walking over to the official to notify him that he’s eligible. The ref seemingly didn’t hear it, just seconds later flagging Decker for being ineligible and catching the two-point conversion.
Furthermore, several NFL analysts including former players seemed to agree that Decker checked in with the official.
While much will be made of Campbell’s refusal to abandon the two-point conversion after the illegal touching followed by Micah Parsons’ penalty, it sure seems like the NFL’s referees made a critical mistake in a crucial moment. Notably, this is the same crew that worked the Kansas City Chiefs vs Green Bay Packers game, missing several obvious calls in that game.