The Detroit Lions felt they were robbed of the win during their Saturday Night Football showdown
After all, the Lions thought they have taken the lead with just 23 seconds left on the clock after they appeared to have notched the two-point conversion off a Jared Goff pass to Taylor Decker (no. 68). However, the conversion was waived off because of an illegal touching penalty called on the Detroit offensive lineman.
Decker apparently did not report as an eligible receiver to referee Brad Allen, with the one announced as an eligible receiver being offensive tackle Dan Skipper (no. 70).
That was the explanation given to head coach Dan Campbell and the Lions after the game, and while the players have denied the reporting–with Skipper himself claiming he did not report to be an eligible receiver–the officials and referee Brad Allen stood firm on the call.
“So, we had a situation where if you were going to have an ineligible number occupy an eligible position, you to report that to the referee. On this particular play, number 70, who had reported during the game a couple of times, reported to me as eligible. Then he lined up at the tackle position. So, actually, he didn’t have to report at all,” Allen explained postgame when asked about the penalty called on the Lions, per Colton Pouncy of The Athletic.
“Number 68, who ended up going downfield and touching the pass, did not report. Therefore, he is an ineligible touching a pass that goes beyond the line, which makes it a foul. So, the issue is, number 70 did report, number 68 did not.”
Allen also further clarified why there were two flags thrown on the play that waived off the Lions’ two-point conversion. Because Skipper reported to him as an eligible receiver, he was in the wrong formation when he lined up for the play. That added to the penalty along with the call on Decker.
“Because number 70 reported as eligible and he was covered up on the line of scrimmage, that makes it an illegal formation. So, number 70 is in an illegal position because he is covered up by rule, and number 68 catches the pass, which is also illegal,” Brad Allen furthered.
It is definitely a confusing turn of events for the Detroit Lions, and while they still had a couple of chances to complete the two-point conversion after the Cowboys were called for an offsides penalty in the following play, they just weren’t able to get it done. Dallas ended up holding on for the 20-19 victory.
Many Detroit Lions fans and NFL viewers expressed belief that there was miscommunication on the part of the referee since the wrong eligible receiver was announced. With the Lions insisting that it was Decker who reported, the blame is being pinned on the referee who might have confused on who reported to him.
Taylor Decker, for his part, highlighted that he reported to referee Brad Allen to be the eligible receiver on the said play.
Speaking to reporters postgame, the veteran OL said he simply did what he was told to do.
“All I really want to say on it, so I didn’t get myself in trouble, is I did exactly what coach told me to do,” Decker said, per Nolan Bianchi of Detroit News. “Went to the ref, said ‘Report,’ yeah. It was my understanding too that Dan brings up the possibility of those plays pregame. I did what I was told to do, did how we did it in practice all week.”
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff corroborated Decker’s claim about reporting, even pointing out that he knows teammate Dan Skipper did not.
“I don’t know if I’ll get fined for this, but I do know that Decker reported. I do know that Dan Skipper did not,” Goff added.
It will be interesting to see what the NFL will say upon review of the incident. It’s surely going to be a hot topic throughout the week, especially since it was a battle against two of the top teams this 2023-24 season.
the clock after they appeared to have notched the two-point conversion off a Jared Goff pass to Taylor Decker (no. 68). However, the conversion was waived off because of an illegal touching penalty called on the Detroit offensive lineman
That was the explanation given to head coach Dan Campbell and the Lions after the game, and while the players have denied the reporting–with Skipper himself claiming he did not report to be an eligiblereceiver–the officials and referee Brad Allen stood firm on the call
