Thankfully, the Detroit Lions had already sewed up a playoff spot prior to Saturday night’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. But the loss, and especially what happened that led to the loss, has fans in Detroit questioning whether or not the officials cost them a win and a chance to have a higher seed when the playoffs start in two weeks.
The Lions appeared to be on their way to a win when offensive lineman Taylor Decker caught Jared Goff’s two-point conversion pass that gave Detroit a one-point lead over the Cowboys with under a minute left. But the official ruled that Decker was an ineligible receiver, even though Taylor said he reported prior to the snap.
It appears that the official incorrectly determined that fellow lineman Dan Skipper reported as eligible instead of Decker. The official announced that Skipper’s number (70) had reported as eligible prior to the snap. Skipper said after the game that he did not say a word to the official before the snap.
That helps explain why the refs thought that Taylor was flagged for being eligible.
“All I really wanna say on it … I did exactly what coach told me to do,” Decker said afterwards, via The Detroit News. “I went to the ref, said report. … I did what I was told to do, did how we did it in practice all week.”
Decker said that it was his understanding that Campbell had informed the official of the two-point play prior to kickoff. Campbell, who didn’t hide his frustration during his postgame press conference, explained the reasoning the officials gave him regarding the penalty.
“The explanation was seventy reported,” he said. “Two people can’t report. I don’t want to talk about it, alright. I explained everything, pregame, to a T. Seventy reported, sixty-eight didn’t, we threw it to sixty-eight, that was the explanation.”
Instead of a game-winning catch, Taylor stood in disbelief as the Cowboys knelt down on the ball after the Lions came up short on their final two-point try. Fortunately for the Lions, they may get another shot at Dallas when the postseason begins.
“Screw it, I’d rather beat them in the playoffs,” Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson said. “That’s my mentality.”
The Lions are moving on, but the NFL will have to look into what exactly happened on Saturday night, as another thrilling game has ended in controversy.
