Lions game-winning play vs. Cowboys gets called back, a breakdown
What Happened
As the game clock winds down in the fourth quarter, the Detroit Lions trail the Dallas Cowboys by a single touchdown. Quarterback Jared Goff leads the Lions offense onto the field, determined to force overtime and keep their playoff hopes alive. With just 23 seconds remaining, the Lions score a touchdown, setting up a critical two-point conversion attempt to tie the game. Head coach Dan Campbell calls a trick play, sending a mix of offensive linemen onto the field to confuse the Cowboys defense. Offensive tackle Taylor Decker (number 68) reports as an eligible receiver, patting quarterback Goff on the back and rubbing his chest - the signal to the referees that he is eligible to catch a pass. Offensive tackle Matt Skipper (number 70) does the same motion as he runs onto the field. The referees, led by Brad Allen, seem to focus their attention on Skipper's eligibility signal, even pointing at him and saying "I got you." Meanwhile, Decker's signal is partially obscured by the other linemen. As Goff takes the snap, he finds the big man Decker open in the end zone for the game-tying two-point conversion. However, the celebration is short-lived, as the referees huddled and ultimately rule the play invalid. They determine that Decker was an ineligible receiver, despite the Lions' pre-game notification of the trick play. Coach Campbell vehemently argues the call, saying they walked the referees through the play beforehand. Decker and the other linemen express their frustration, feeling the officials missed the proper eligibility signals. The NFL later clarifies the rule, stating it is the player's responsibility to clearly communicate their eligibility to the referee through physical signals. They also acknowledge the officiating crew is expected to be "downgraded" for their handling of the play. While the Lions ultimately lose the game, the controversial ending sparks debate over the nuances of eligibility rules and officiating in the NFL.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentThe NFL had its most controversial ending of the season last week.
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Lions and Cowboys, close game.
They're down a touchdown and they get the touchdown.
Do they kick the point to tie it or do they go for two?
Immediately, coach says, we're going for two and I'm excited to see it
because we got a trick play.
We've been working on this trick play.
Well, first, let's just confuse them.
Maybe we're not going to run the trick play.
They call time out because the Cowboys were like, what's happening?
They went for two so fast, we didn't even get a chance to think.
I need to think about stuff before it happens.
And then the Lions say, okay, great.
Well, now let's change our personnel, run that trick play that we told the refs
before the game, hey, be on the lookout.
We're going to run this play.
It's cool.
Don't blow it for us.
So they got to go for two to get the win.
I mean, there's 23 seconds left, but to take the lead and okay,
a lot of movement.
That doesn't mean anything because he's going to,
throw it to number 68, who's on the line.
Fake block, fake block, fake block.
Big man touchdown.
Do we get a big man spike?
I don't think we did.
He was just very excited to celebrate with his team.
They take the lead.
The play worked.
Cowboys are like, wait, what?
They're excited.
Cowboys fans are like, wait, what?
What?
That sucked.
They threw it to that guy.
Oh, wait.
Refs are chatting.
And they're chatting about something and golf looks upset.
And this doesn't look good.
They're talking about the Lions, and here's what the ref had to say.
They were touching by number 68.
Oh, they say that number 68 wasn't an eligible receiver.
That's number 70 was the eligible receiver,
which doesn't make number 70 happy because he says,
I didn't say a fucking word.
I didn't say a fucking word.
Big time.
Pirate vibe.
Pirate vibes like, you know, Smee, if he was full of muscle.
The refs go to the head coach, say, 70 reported as eligible, not 68.
He says, no way he did.
He says, 70.
Yeah, it was 70.
Yep, yep.
No, it was not.
We walked you through the play.
Something like that.
We told you the play.
Bullshit.
There's no fucking way.
So he's upset.
Decker's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
He's upset.
Let's walk through what actually happened, all right?
You can see Goff, the quarterback, take 68, pat him on the butt and say, hey, go report.
Now, they send another lineman with them so the Cowboys don't know who actually is eligible
or not.
I have no idea if this is very common in the NFL or not, but it seems like a move of deception,
which is fun, but the NFL said you're not allowed to do this.
Anyway, he rubs his chest, 68, rubs his chest, Decker, and says, I'm reporting.
That's the signal, up and down on the chest.
The only problem is that as he's doing that, number 70, Skipper, you can see up top, as
he's rubbing his chest, Skipper is rubbing his chest with his hand up as he runs on the
field.
So you got two guys doing the I'm reporting signal to the ref.
Skipper's doing it as running on, Decker's doing it as he's walking over, and Skipper
did.
This in the first quarter as well, they showed number 70 running on the field in the same
manner.
New personnel, he's rubbing his chest, he's got his arm up, and he's trying to get the
ref's attention to say, hey, I'm eligible.
Hey, I'm eligible.
See, he's running all around.
Hey, I'm eligible, and he's doing that motion, the same exact motion he did before the two-point
conversion.
This is the first quarter on the left, and this is the fourth quarter on the right.
It's the same exact thing.
So while number 68, Decker, was rubbing his chest, we know that number 70 is also
rubbing his chest, was wiping his chest at the same time.
So who's the ref looking at?
Well, there he is, and the ref's looking straight at number 70, saying, oh, I see you
rubbing your chest.
He's not looking at 68 at all.
He even looks at him and points at him and says, okay, I got you.
As he's looking at number 70, he's pointing at number 70 and saying, okay, I got you,
thanks.
He never even really sees 68, because he's still looking at 70.
And the other lineman that went as a decoy is blocking the view of Decker 68, so the
ref never really sees him.
I have no idea whose fault that is.
I'm just breaking down the video, but everyone's going to get mad every which way.
I can see the confusion there from the ref's point of view, but if you're told something
beforehand, maybe you're supposed to be aware of it.
I have no idea.
Anyway, that's what happened.
I mean, it was a pretty confusing situation.
The ref sees 70 doing it because he's running on trying to get his attention.
They don't.
They convert the redo.
They lose the game.
The NFL says, hey, players who wear this number and this number must report to the referee
to be eligible to receive a pass.
And for the play in question, Tyler Decker, who wears number 68, approached referee Brad
Allen to report as eligible.
And then they say, it is the responsibility of the player to be sure that change in status
is clearly communicated to the referee by both a physical signal, which is hands up
and down in front of his chest, and to report the referee his intention to report as eligible
receiver.
So they're saying it's the player's job.
To make sure the ref knows exactly who is reporting.
And then they go on to say, this is to allow the defense an opportunity to match personnel
to avoid deception.
And the whole play here and sending three linemen and having to do the signal was for
the point of deception.
So if that's real, then I understand what's going on.
The confusing part is, according to Adam Schefter, that referee is expected to be downgraded
for this play.
So the NFL is kind of saying, no, it's the player's job.
But also, you're out of here, dude.
You blew it.
So you tell me.
After seeing the video broken down real slow, you tell me.
Because does this happen all the time in the NFL?
I have no idea.
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