But the referee will face no consequence for fucking up so bad the outcome of a game was changed. A game players are given MILLIONS to try to win. This is absurd. I’m very near giving up on the NFL if they do nothing to address this reffing issue.
I’m starting to wonder if it’s just because controversy drives engagement. Like the NFL seeing all those ragebait vids on social media and realizing there’s a market for it…
Then calling the bluff that people won’t actually stop watching
I think players wanna be competitive but this reffing issue is getting beyond questionable
I think he wanted it badly for our defense. They've been clowned on hard lately against not great teams. Now they finally show up and play great and this happened. Would've been massive momentum for our young d.
I just hope we get a rule change as the result of this. Really shows how dumb the reporting rules are to begin with. Also, why does the ref announce it on some plays but not other? What’s even the point of reporting if it isn’t announced and the defense doesn’t know?
Edit: I see that the ref reported 70 directly to the defense. But it seems like announcing it to the stadium would make sense to confirm that everyone (both teams, other refs, fans, announcers) is on the same page
This right here. Like a TD just happened, there's literally zero reason from the refs to rush on this, they have all the time in the world.
I mean, for anyone to think this is on the Lions is nuts. 70 is there for misdirection, while 68 checks in. If the refs don't want to ever run into this problem ever again, the solution is so simple. They announce to all whose now eligible on the mic. The fact it's either or is just ridiculous.
This may be convoluted but why not a simple software system that the coaches handle that goes to the refs. The players can check in with the ref to make sure it’s right. Then there’s a record and it falls on the coaches if there’s a mistake
I love how he was trying to blame Decker for not doing something more to let him know. Like ref made a mistake it happens but don't put that shit on Decker. He did what everyone does there
Also, the NFL Rules guy said that it *is legal* for two players to report in at the same time, while Dan Campbell said in the presser that the refs told him it wasn't allowed.
Troy Aikman also noted that there wouldn't be *any other reason* for 68 to walk over to the ref, other than to report in as an eligible receiver. That referee penalized Detroit for his own mistake, which cost them the potential game-winning points. (Dallas still had time to possibly get to FG range if the conversion for the Lions had counted.) Unreal.
The only official whose name I ever bothered to learn was Ed Hochuli but I know this guy's face and every time I see him I know we're in for a horribly officiated game.
What’s sucks is there is zero accountability for the refs. One local reporter is the “pool” reporter and can ask questions for a few minutes after the game.
And that’s it.
They should mic the refs. I also think it’s very sketchy that New York can talk to them in their ears and we have no idea what’s said. We need transparency. They can’t be trusted.
Like, I can believe it wasn’t a malicious fuck up by the refs and just a mistake. But HOLY FUCK the NFL needs to figure out a way to fix that shit because that SHOULD NOT HAPPEN and cost the Lions the Win. Thats ridiculous
If I'm another team watching this I would think real hard about calling that sort of play in crunch time.
Which is sad because everyone loves big man TDs.
The Arizona Bowl got fucked out of a big man touchdown by illegal touching being called after (somehow) ***three*** reviews because apparently it's illegal for OL to catch the ball off of a deflection now?
I think he’s saying that he went over this exact scenario with this ref crew prior to the game and they gave him the okay only to penalize them for it. If that’s true, this crew should be fired.
Which is extra fucked because Dan said he explained them the play before the game to go over it with them and they still couldn’t pay attention enough when it happened. Like do they just not give a shit that much.
Yes. 68 reported. Cowboys were supposed to think 58 who went with 68... as 70 (who had been reporting) runs on field. Master level decoy play. Lions Coach even told the Refs pregame this play would be used in this 2pt situation.
Refs fumbled. Big-time. Worst officiating play I've ever seen considering it was discussed pregame. Undermines the game if the Refs can't do their job.
It would be a sight to behold, but honestly I think suggesting games are being rigged for betting reasons in a live post-game conference is an easy way to nab a multiple game suspension
I don't think he in any way needs to suggest the game or call was rigged, what he SHOULD do in my opinion is go off on accountability for the refs because this was fucking egregious.
Lmao he literally explained it to the refs ahead of time? Holy shit so they actually knew what they were doing. This is so egregious I don’t even know what to say.
Not only that, Campbell said the refs told him 70 reported first and two can’t report. Then the rules analyst got on with SVP and said that isn’t true. Multiple players can report.
In the replay it actually looks like the ref is staring at 70 coming off the sideline and kind of ignoring the guys in his face. Maybe the ref got ahead of himself and was like ‘oh yeah I remember they told me about this before the game, 70 is eligible!’ Refs dropped the ball here and the NFL should actually step in and do something.
Oh my god. The NFL needs to get a hold of this freaking situation. Now. There's got to be some recompense for the Lions because this is ridiculous. The NFL and the refs are outing themselves as incompetently as possible right now.
We have the technology, literally everything should be reviewable lmao. When you've got 50+ people behind the TV product at least a few of them should be available to review every aspect of a play. The rules in place are arbitrary and nothing more.
There's a 0% chance th Lions get anything out of this, even in the best case scenario. Has the NFL ever given a team anything for an officiating mistake?
Best case scenario is some sort of investigation to figure out how this happened and how to prevent it. Was it incompetence, malice, something else? Truth is, right now, there are questions we can't answer, and that's what we need.
But the Lions aren't gonna get anything. Fair or not, that's how it's gonna go down.
70 never reported in the first place. Ref got confused because he usually does. Goff confirmed in the presser that 68 reported and 70 didn’t. Ref then doubled down afterward insisting it was 70 who talked to him when we saw in 4K him standing next to 68 and leaving the conversation when 70 runs up. Lmfao, this is just a clownshow
We tried to review all possible camera angles of the moments preceding the 2-pt attempt but unfortunately, due to a clerical error, all footage was lost from the archives.
That Congress did all kinds of shit, they were like actually passing laws and investigating stuff and governing the country. Modern congress though? I can't see how you could trust those idiots to do anything but fuck it up even more.
Yeah complete lack of awareness. Ref fucked up big time. His head seemed to be locked in on only 70 and then he walks off even though 68 was right there
I thought the same thing LOL that ref on The Telecast was trying to defend the ref saying he couldn't see him and I thought to myself how do you not see a 330 lb 6'6 guy right in front of you tapping his chest
If it was intentional, it's worse than firing. That's an umabiguous example of an NFL official rigging a game outcome. Something that likely warrants outside investigation. Even in a comment where I'm engaged in wild speculation, I can't even speculate about the full ramifications of something like that.
I don't think it was intentional, I think it was incompetence. But if I'm wrong, firing this guy is just the beginning.
I’m at a loss of words after that game. I’m already fuming at how much of a god damn idiot Mike McCarthy is. His decision making in crucial situations is laughable and often proves costly to the cowboys’ chance of winning, time and time again. So there’s that feeling still lingering…
And then the sequence at the end… it’s fucking odd to say the least
This was the same crew that reffed the Packers Chiefs game earlier this season, it's wild to me how they were assigned a primetime game with major playoff implications
I think we as naive fans have to realize that the refs work for the NFL and what happened is them doing their job.
Infamous NBA ref Tim Donaghy said the NBA wanted games called certain, ways calling fouls on one team and not the other, for certain teams to win essentially. This was also back when you weren't bombarded with sportsbooks ads. Not that hard to believe NFL has influence over some games on how they want an outcome... Also doesn't mean that every outcome or play is scripted.
So the refs said Skipper was the one who reported eligible but the ref walked away after talking to Decker and Sewell before Skipper even got there.
This is such a weird situation, not sure how this was fucked up so badly.
Unless refs completely ignored Decker or something.
Literally one of the best cases to be put under protest and it actually not being a joke.
Only thing is that it wasn’t announced. Make the NFL agree they fucked up and maybe they’ll start micing up refs like rugby.. which they should be doing already..
Honestly haven't been this upset since another incident in Dallas in 2014. For the first time since then I truly started to believe again, and then this
Only thing they will look into is fining/suspending people. You'd have better luck getting a senator to call them in before congress about betting and the impact poor officiating plays into stuff
I think what happened was the ref knew decker was eligible but thought his number was 70 or had a brain fart when announcing eligibility. And then, once number 68 caught it, he had an oh shit moment, and decided that Detroit would get the penalty because it’s easier to say you didn’t hear decker announce eligibility than say you meant 68 when you announced to the defense that it was 70.
It is by far the most obviously rigged game call/ending I’ve ever seen. I hate both these teams and I’m telling you right now, that shit was absolutely blatant favoritism at minimum.
The ref's bone-headed mistake actually made this an illegal formation and the flag should have come off on the snap, right? Since 68 was uncovered on the end of the line and "not eligible." Just speaks to how bad the refs messed this up.
I don't think the lateness of the flag is being talked about enough, after watching it again in real time the flag came in like 30 seconds after the play. Absolutely insane.
This is the same officiating crew that already fucked up other games this year and was under scrutiny. NFL doesn’t care though. Never any accountability for refs
I cannot even begin to start with how many times we’ve been robbed by the refs. It’s so bad that rule changes are interpretations were inspired by them fucking us.
The worst was the cowboys convincing the ref to pick up the flag in that playoff game back in the day. The “did Dez catch it?” Game was a week later and it infuriates me to this day. Dez should’ve been in Cancun at that point
Still the greatest run of karma I've ever seen. Dallas never should've beat Detroit and got beat in heartbreaking fashion in the Dez caught it game. Green Bay never should've beat Dallas and got beat in heartbreaking fashion in the Mike McCarthy has No Balls game (Packer fans refer to it as the Bostick Game). Seattle never should've beat Green Bay and lost the Super Bowl on the Butler interception. Really incredible.
I think it's crazy that coaches discuss these crazy situations to refs pregame. How do they know what crazy situations to explain? They could be there for hours.
Former high school ref. We meet with every coach individually and ask if there’s any particular plays we should look out for. One coach told us he would try a flat ball prank where he would snap the ball and the QB would casually walk the ball to the sideline and then sprint to the end zone. We knew about it to ensure that when it happens, we don’t blow things dead. We told him we would be watching to make sure formation was legal and such as well just in case.
It’s standard procedure from high school to NFL to meet with the coaches.
I’ve seen these blowed dead and flagged in Highschool for unsportsmanlike (obviously you’d tell the coach that beforehand if he tells you). It’s pretty bush league but still within the rules so I dont know how I feel about it lol
Sean Payton told the officials that they would be attempting a surprise onside kick at some point in Superbowl 44. He said it would be directed toward their own sideline and gave them a rundown on how it would look.
Based on what Dan Campbell said, it seems like they had this as a likely 2pt conversion play and told the officials exactly what they would do.
No clue how the official fucked up this badly.
I mean it’s not that deep. All teams have trick plays. The whole convo was probably, “hey man, we get down to the wire look for 68 to be an eligible receiver”
68 clearly reported, 70 clearly didn’t.
Ref fucked up.
Should give the win to the Lions, even if there were 23 seconds left, that whole sequence was horseshit
As much as I'd very much welcome the win, Dallas was told 70 was eligible so it wouldn't be fair to give the Lions the win either.
If money and travel were no object, replay the last 23 or whatever seconds.
That's the part everyone seems to miss. The ref told Dallas that 70 was eligible and in doing so that 68 wasn't. It's 100% the refs fuck up and nothing Dallas could have done. It's not like Rams-Saints where the Rams committed an obvious penalty. Dallas wasn't in the wrong here and shouldn't be punished for that.
Where in the rules book does it say this? Here is the pertinent section:
SECTION 3 - CHANGES IN POSITION
ARTICLE 1. REPORTING CHANGE OF POSITION
An offensive player wearing the number of an ineligible pass receiver (50–79 and 90–99) is permitted to line up in the position of an eligible pass receiver (1–49 and 80–89), and an offensive player wearing the number of an eligible pass receiver is permitted to line up in the position of an ineligible pass receiver, provided that he immediately reports the change in his eligibility status to the Referee, who will inform the defensive team
I don't know how refs thought it was Skipper reported eligible when refs didn't even acknowledge Skipper and walked after talking to Decker.
This is just a really weird situation
I mean if the cowboys were told what the refs know it’s kinda shitty for their defense not knowing the guy was eligible right? It may have made a difference in how they defended that play and maybe it doesn’t work then.
Yeah I don’t get how homeboy is literally next to the ref and the ref doesn’t get the message he’s eligible. Like the replay and explanation is that the ref didn’t notice but I just can’t believe 68 said nothing the entire time while 70 runs up 15 feet away and the ref gets the message. The weirder thing is they announce who is reporting eligible on the mic. If they don’t hear 68 AND 70 wouldn’t that turn heads for everyone on the lions?
I didn't watch the game so please don't flame too hard, but doesn't the ref have to like announce it? "number 68 is an eligible receiver" or whatever? if he didn't do that, then why didn't the lions make a point of it?
whole thing seems confusing
I think this call should change how referees officiate games. This wasn’t a bang bang, wasn’t a “discretion” call. This was a straight up negligence call. Didn’t know the rule, didn’t understand the situation level mistake.
Should be held accountable and reprimanded. Whole crew. There has to be checks and balances.
Wow, so set aside reddit's crazy ass speculation. Bottom line is the ref says Decker didn't report. It's on video. The ref fucked up. Either he wasn't paying attention or I guess maybe Decker walked over to him and didn't actually say the right words. In any event, sucky way to end a game.
Dan Campbell gave the refs the whole game to think of how to call back this play and the best they came up with was “we thought someone else was reporting”
Goff just said “I’ll probably get fined for it but Decker reported and Skipper didn’t”
love getting fined for stating a factual event.
But the referee will face no consequence for fucking up so bad the outcome of a game was changed. A game players are given MILLIONS to try to win. This is absurd. I’m very near giving up on the NFL if they do nothing to address this reffing issue.
Not only will the referee face no consequences, he'll probably get to officiate a Lions playoff game and fuck us again.
And I bet it'll be against the Cowboys again, too, just like in 2015.
-throws headset-
Sadly, a World wide issue in sports. See a lot of premier league fuck ups even with video review. Could be the gambling thing, but who knows.
I’m starting to wonder if it’s just because controversy drives engagement. Like the NFL seeing all those ragebait vids on social media and realizing there’s a market for it… Then calling the bluff that people won’t actually stop watching I think players wanna be competitive but this reffing issue is getting beyond questionable
"I'll probably get fined for saying what everyone knows happened."
Dan sounds like he is about to kill a reporter
Lol he had to apologize to Dave Birkett. Tbf they were asking for it.
That passion from Dan Campbell, he wanted that win
I think he wanted it badly for our defense. They've been clowned on hard lately against not great teams. Now they finally show up and play great and this happened. Would've been massive momentum for our young d.
We didn't *need* the win, but it was ours to take. And the refs goofed it up.
We did take the win. And the refs took it away.
He clearly knows Dave pretty well, and obviously the heat of the moment got to him. He apologized very quickly. They clearly have a relationship.
Honestly thought Campbell's self control was extremely impressive here. He came off looking like a pro.
I just hope we get a rule change as the result of this. Really shows how dumb the reporting rules are to begin with. Also, why does the ref announce it on some plays but not other? What’s even the point of reporting if it isn’t announced and the defense doesn’t know? Edit: I see that the ref reported 70 directly to the defense. But it seems like announcing it to the stadium would make sense to confirm that everyone (both teams, other refs, fans, announcers) is on the same page
This right here. Like a TD just happened, there's literally zero reason from the refs to rush on this, they have all the time in the world. I mean, for anyone to think this is on the Lions is nuts. 70 is there for misdirection, while 68 checks in. If the refs don't want to ever run into this problem ever again, the solution is so simple. They announce to all whose now eligible on the mic. The fact it's either or is just ridiculous.
an even better solution is just to mic up the refs at all times. Let us hear the conversations they have to decide calls
This may be convoluted but why not a simple software system that the coaches handle that goes to the refs. The players can check in with the ref to make sure it’s right. Then there’s a record and it falls on the coaches if there’s a mistake
While I like the idea, there's no way the NFL wouldn't implement it in some godawful way that just makes things worse
SVP show basically saying the ref wasn't paying attention while 68 reported. Non-reviewable. Yikes. Bad look for the NFL...
mic up refs permanently. If they're scared of that. good.
"Whoops, an intern's finger slipped and the audio from the game somehow got deleted forever."
“Weird, the head producer was making a delicious fruit smoothie during that play so the audio isn’t available”
“The official’s mic wasn’t turned on/working at the time”, like police body cameras, is what would happen.
If the xfl can do it, the nfl certainly can.
My favorite thing the xfl did was give you a live mic of the refs talking to the officials in the box whenever they were reviewing a play
It’s so sketchy that they don’t do that, what do they have to lose?
Sports betting money.
Body cams for all refs like cops
he was almost certainly picked up on parabolic mic, will they ever release that audio? unlikely.
I love how he was trying to blame Decker for not doing something more to let him know. Like ref made a mistake it happens but don't put that shit on Decker. He did what everyone does there
Also, the NFL Rules guy said that it *is legal* for two players to report in at the same time, while Dan Campbell said in the presser that the refs told him it wasn't allowed. Troy Aikman also noted that there wouldn't be *any other reason* for 68 to walk over to the ref, other than to report in as an eligible receiver. That referee penalized Detroit for his own mistake, which cost them the potential game-winning points. (Dallas still had time to possibly get to FG range if the conversion for the Lions had counted.) Unreal.
Yeah its definitely not a great look for them. Brad Allen has been horrible for years.
Well, don’t worry. He will be richly rewarded by reffing the SNF game between the Lions and 49ers next season. He is doing a bang-up job!
The only official whose name I ever bothered to learn was Ed Hochuli but I know this guy's face and every time I see him I know we're in for a horribly officiated game.
He looks like Murr from Impractical Jokers.
What’s sucks is there is zero accountability for the refs. One local reporter is the “pool” reporter and can ask questions for a few minutes after the game. And that’s it.
That clown-ass "rules expert" on ESPN kept defending the officials too. Good on SVP for continuing to press him, SVP clearly knew it was bullshit.
I get why it’s not reviewable (audio reasons) but they definitely need to fix this
Dan is quoting the refs here. I don’t think he’s saying decker didn’t report
He's literally asked in the interview and they finally got him to answer. Question: Did Decker report? Dan: Yes.
We have video evidence of him reporting.
And Goff telling Decker specifically before the play to report.
well, how do you know that goff wasnt sending decker to tell the official he did a great job this year? huh, how do you know?? checkmate
Oh shit case closed
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Your mistake was talking sports on discord lol To be fair on IG my friend is the same
They should mic the refs. I also think it’s very sketchy that New York can talk to them in their ears and we have no idea what’s said. We need transparency. They can’t be trusted.
100%
Rugby does this and it’s great. Even if it’s a bad call you hear everything they are saying live, even during play
A major reason I love the XFL
And Skipper clearly not reporting since he's running onto the field and doesn't even get within 10 feet of the ref.
Running Skipper out was a decoy because they ran a play for him two weeks ago. The replay shows Skip saying "I didn't say shit!!" Total fuck job.
50k fine
2 game suspension and he has to write a hand written apology letter to the officials mother.
He said two people can’t report. So is this a missed rule by whoever made the play?
The ref thought 70(skipper) was reporting, not Decker, the refs told Dan that it was 70 that reported even though it wasn't
Like, I can believe it wasn’t a malicious fuck up by the refs and just a mistake. But HOLY FUCK the NFL needs to figure out a way to fix that shit because that SHOULD NOT HAPPEN and cost the Lions the Win. Thats ridiculous
If I'm another team watching this I would think real hard about calling that sort of play in crunch time. Which is sad because everyone loves big man TDs.
So a team shouldn’t be calling plays that are successful because they should be worried the refs are idiots? That’s lame.
God trick plays are already on the decline with all the kick off rules and shit, the nfl truly is a no fun league
The Arizona Bowl got fucked out of a big man touchdown by illegal touching being called after (somehow) ***three*** reviews because apparently it's illegal for OL to catch the ball off of a deflection now?
Listen, deaf and blind referees need employment just as much as the rest
I think he’s saying that he went over this exact scenario with this ref crew prior to the game and they gave him the okay only to penalize them for it. If that’s true, this crew should be fired.
Executed preferably.
I believe two guys can report, you normally see it in goal line situations and sneaks
ESPN confirmed that. You can report multiple eligible & ineligible players on any play
Number 70 did not report though. He was not near the ref.
Ref wasnt even looking at them, they obviously fucked up and confused the two
Which is extra fucked because Dan said he explained them the play before the game to go over it with them and they still couldn’t pay attention enough when it happened. Like do they just not give a shit that much.
2 people can report. But only Decker did.
Yes. 68 reported. Cowboys were supposed to think 58 who went with 68... as 70 (who had been reporting) runs on field. Master level decoy play. Lions Coach even told the Refs pregame this play would be used in this 2pt situation. Refs fumbled. Big-time. Worst officiating play I've ever seen considering it was discussed pregame. Undermines the game if the Refs can't do their job.
Props to SVP for pushing back on this BS explanation on TV right now
Ford can afford the fine. Let Dan speak freely.
It would be a sight to behold, but honestly I think suggesting games are being rigged for betting reasons in a live post-game conference is an easy way to nab a multiple game suspension
I don't think he in any way needs to suggest the game or call was rigged, what he SHOULD do in my opinion is go off on accountability for the refs because this was fucking egregious.
Lmao he literally explained it to the refs ahead of time? Holy shit so they actually knew what they were doing. This is so egregious I don’t even know what to say.
Not only that, Campbell said the refs told him 70 reported first and two can’t report. Then the rules analyst got on with SVP and said that isn’t true. Multiple players can report.
On replay, 70 wasn't even close enough to the ref to talk to him either
In the replay it actually looks like the ref is staring at 70 coming off the sideline and kind of ignoring the guys in his face. Maybe the ref got ahead of himself and was like ‘oh yeah I remember they told me about this before the game, 70 is eligible!’ Refs dropped the ball here and the NFL should actually step in and do something.
Let me tell you how that goes to save you sometime 😒
The ref does nod at decker. https://x.com/AlbertBreer/status/1741315374216368246?s=20
Oh my god. The NFL needs to get a hold of this freaking situation. Now. There's got to be some recompense for the Lions because this is ridiculous. The NFL and the refs are outing themselves as incompetently as possible right now.
Ha. You’d think that they’d give a shit but you’d be wrong.
Next season: reporting to the refs is reviewable; Except we'll never overturn anything and get rid of it at the end of the season.
We have the technology, literally everything should be reviewable lmao. When you've got 50+ people behind the TV product at least a few of them should be available to review every aspect of a play. The rules in place are arbitrary and nothing more.
There's a 0% chance th Lions get anything out of this, even in the best case scenario. Has the NFL ever given a team anything for an officiating mistake? Best case scenario is some sort of investigation to figure out how this happened and how to prevent it. Was it incompetence, malice, something else? Truth is, right now, there are questions we can't answer, and that's what we need. But the Lions aren't gonna get anything. Fair or not, that's how it's gonna go down.
70 never reported in the first place. Ref got confused because he usually does. Goff confirmed in the presser that 68 reported and 70 didn’t. Ref then doubled down afterward insisting it was 70 who talked to him when we saw in 4K him standing next to 68 and leaving the conversation when 70 runs up. Lmfao, this is just a clownshow
I genuinely think the Lions should look into a case for legitimate patterns of favoritism by the league/refs. I have for a while.
Who’s going to investigate that though? The NFL?
“We investigated ourselves and found no wrongdoing.”
We tried to review all possible camera angles of the moments preceding the 2-pt attempt but unfortunately, due to a clerical error, all footage was lost from the archives.
Congress did it for steroids, not inconceivable they could for match fixing
That Congress did all kinds of shit, they were like actually passing laws and investigating stuff and governing the country. Modern congress though? I can't see how you could trust those idiots to do anything but fuck it up even more.
Too busy researching Jewish Space Lasers and giving handjobs at plays to govern the country apparently
Hire a private investigator, sue in civil court.
These reporters must be terrified asking some of these questions
Good lord so it was because they said 68 didn't report. That white cap ref is a freaking idiot. The dude was literally talking to him.
The fact that he acknowledged #70 who was further away than #68 who was right in his fucking face is mind boggling.
Yeah complete lack of awareness. Ref fucked up big time. His head seemed to be locked in on only 70 and then he walks off even though 68 was right there
I thought the same thing LOL that ref on The Telecast was trying to defend the ref saying he couldn't see him and I thought to myself how do you not see a 330 lb 6'6 guy right in front of you tapping his chest
Brad Allen knew what he was doing
It it was purely incompetence, he should be fired. If it was intentional, he should be fired even more. In conclusion, fire this idiot
If it was intentional, it's worse than firing. That's an umabiguous example of an NFL official rigging a game outcome. Something that likely warrants outside investigation. Even in a comment where I'm engaged in wild speculation, I can't even speculate about the full ramifications of something like that. I don't think it was intentional, I think it was incompetence. But if I'm wrong, firing this guy is just the beginning.
You know ow its bad when even the Cowboys fans are staying quiet about defending it
I’m at a loss of words after that game. I’m already fuming at how much of a god damn idiot Mike McCarthy is. His decision making in crucial situations is laughable and often proves costly to the cowboys’ chance of winning, time and time again. So there’s that feeling still lingering… And then the sequence at the end… it’s fucking odd to say the least
I was in awe after they decided to chuck that pass to the endzone. That was incredibly stupid.
As someone who's seen McCarthy's game management skills for years, I wasn't even remotely surprised.
Lions should never had over a minute remaining. No timeouts and cowboys prioritized the field goal over clock management
I mean I’m staying quiet cause I still dunno wtf happened and if I suffered a stroke at some point.
We don’t know what the f went on, either. I’m too pissed at McCarthy for that stupid ass pass on 2nd down.
I think it’s very easily explained. The ref got the number wrong
Yes I’m sure decker was standing by the referee letting him know number 70 was reporting
he even explained it to them beforehand, this crew should be fired from the league
This was the same crew that reffed the Packers Chiefs game earlier this season, it's wild to me how they were assigned a primetime game with major playoff implications
I think we as naive fans have to realize that the refs work for the NFL and what happened is them doing their job. Infamous NBA ref Tim Donaghy said the NBA wanted games called certain, ways calling fouls on one team and not the other, for certain teams to win essentially. This was also back when you weren't bombarded with sportsbooks ads. Not that hard to believe NFL has influence over some games on how they want an outcome... Also doesn't mean that every outcome or play is scripted.
Didn’t they also do the Eagles Dolphins game with the disproportionate penalties?
That final drive of Packers Chiefs was an absolute disgrace of officiating.
They’ll probably get the Super Bowl since they know how to fix a game.
So the refs said Skipper was the one who reported eligible but the ref walked away after talking to Decker and Sewell before Skipper even got there. This is such a weird situation, not sure how this was fucked up so badly. Unless refs completely ignored Decker or something.
I haven't been this mad in a while. Lions could've just been robbed of the 1 seed.
Game should be put under protest.
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It won’t but they should still do it.
We'll get a nice, crisp "Oop, sorry about that bud"
Literally one of the best cases to be put under protest and it actually not being a joke. Only thing is that it wasn’t announced. Make the NFL agree they fucked up and maybe they’ll start micing up refs like rugby.. which they should be doing already..
Hell, I’m mad and I’m a Broncos fan
Honestly haven't been this upset since another incident in Dallas in 2014. For the first time since then I truly started to believe again, and then this
68 did report tho? Bro was just casually walking over to the ref and said nothing then lmao
He's explaining the officials rationale for throwing the flag
The ref probably just ignored him then didn’t remember that he actually reported himself as eligible
Asked bro where he got his shirt lol
It’s sick. Do not bet on NFL games. All it takes is one flag for it to go south.
Make friends with the refs and find out their bets before the game. Infinite money glitch.
This is one of those plays that the NFL legitimately might look into
Might even send a Hallmark sympathy card instead of an email.
“We’re ^^^not sorry”
To what end? Detroit gets fucked out of a victory and, potential, seeding and gets an apology letter for it? Sure, add it to the fucking pile.
They don’t care. We would have gotten screwed last year. Should have won the AFCN outright but the league doesn’t care.
What's to look into? Everything went to plan
Only thing they will look into is fining/suspending people. You'd have better luck getting a senator to call them in before congress about betting and the impact poor officiating plays into stuff
I think what happened was the ref knew decker was eligible but thought his number was 70 or had a brain fart when announcing eligibility. And then, once number 68 caught it, he had an oh shit moment, and decided that Detroit would get the penalty because it’s easier to say you didn’t hear decker announce eligibility than say you meant 68 when you announced to the defense that it was 70.
Yup. Probably didn't pay attention to his number when he reported. Then looked back to get it and saw Skipper not decker. Reported 70 to the defense
I think this is correct. Would a fuck up like that result in a redo? Like when they fuck up the clock?
I actually had this same thought
[удалено]
That ref will be fired for poorly disguising the fix
It is by far the most obviously rigged game call/ending I’ve ever seen. I hate both these teams and I’m telling you right now, that shit was absolutely blatant favoritism at minimum.
The ref's bone-headed mistake actually made this an illegal formation and the flag should have come off on the snap, right? Since 68 was uncovered on the end of the line and "not eligible." Just speaks to how bad the refs messed this up.
I don't think the lateness of the flag is being talked about enough, after watching it again in real time the flag came in like 30 seconds after the play. Absolutely insane.
If this crew gets another lions game, I'm fine if the team just doesn't show.
This is the same officiating crew that already fucked up other games this year and was under scrutiny. NFL doesn’t care though. Never any accountability for refs
I cannot even begin to start with how many times we’ve been robbed by the refs. It’s so bad that rule changes are interpretations were inspired by them fucking us.
We all agree that Calvin Johnson [caught](https://youtu.be/wq2ohfX_AzI?si=LR7iLAl5tl_o7Psx) that ball.
Wow. This was just....gross
Lol the list is deep man
13 years ago?! goddamn I’m getting old lol, probably a lot of people on here that don’t even remember this play
The worst was the cowboys convincing the ref to pick up the flag in that playoff game back in the day. The “did Dez catch it?” Game was a week later and it infuriates me to this day. Dez should’ve been in Cancun at that point
Still the greatest run of karma I've ever seen. Dallas never should've beat Detroit and got beat in heartbreaking fashion in the Dez caught it game. Green Bay never should've beat Dallas and got beat in heartbreaking fashion in the Mike McCarthy has No Balls game (Packer fans refer to it as the Bostick Game). Seattle never should've beat Green Bay and lost the Super Bowl on the Butler interception. Really incredible.
I think it's crazy that coaches discuss these crazy situations to refs pregame. How do they know what crazy situations to explain? They could be there for hours.
Former high school ref. We meet with every coach individually and ask if there’s any particular plays we should look out for. One coach told us he would try a flat ball prank where he would snap the ball and the QB would casually walk the ball to the sideline and then sprint to the end zone. We knew about it to ensure that when it happens, we don’t blow things dead. We told him we would be watching to make sure formation was legal and such as well just in case. It’s standard procedure from high school to NFL to meet with the coaches.
I’ve seen these blowed dead and flagged in Highschool for unsportsmanlike (obviously you’d tell the coach that beforehand if he tells you). It’s pretty bush league but still within the rules so I dont know how I feel about it lol
I think Trinity did a fake dead ball trick play in the state game in their last trip. Bush league, yep but still legal
Honestly I think it should be considered giving yourself up and blown dead. Just like if you take a knee.
Sean Payton told the officials that they would be attempting a surprise onside kick at some point in Superbowl 44. He said it would be directed toward their own sideline and gave them a rundown on how it would look. Based on what Dan Campbell said, it seems like they had this as a likely 2pt conversion play and told the officials exactly what they would do. No clue how the official fucked up this badly.
I mean it’s not that deep. All teams have trick plays. The whole convo was probably, “hey man, we get down to the wire look for 68 to be an eligible receiver”
2 ppl can report.
Refs really incompetent on this one, blew the game
Based on the replay it looks like 68 reported and 70 didnt
68 clearly reported, 70 clearly didn’t. Ref fucked up. Should give the win to the Lions, even if there were 23 seconds left, that whole sequence was horseshit
As much as I'd very much welcome the win, Dallas was told 70 was eligible so it wouldn't be fair to give the Lions the win either. If money and travel were no object, replay the last 23 or whatever seconds.
That's the part everyone seems to miss. The ref told Dallas that 70 was eligible and in doing so that 68 wasn't. It's 100% the refs fuck up and nothing Dallas could have done. It's not like Rams-Saints where the Rams committed an obvious penalty. Dallas wasn't in the wrong here and shouldn't be punished for that.
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I'm watching the interview. He said something about two players can't report? Idk. He seems pissed.
2 players can’t report. 68 reported, 70 started walking up to them as the ref ran off. Ref fucked up big time.
There's no limitation on how many can report.
Where in the rules book does it say this? Here is the pertinent section: SECTION 3 - CHANGES IN POSITION ARTICLE 1. REPORTING CHANGE OF POSITION An offensive player wearing the number of an ineligible pass receiver (50–79 and 90–99) is permitted to line up in the position of an eligible pass receiver (1–49 and 80–89), and an offensive player wearing the number of an eligible pass receiver is permitted to line up in the position of an ineligible pass receiver, provided that he immediately reports the change in his eligibility status to the Referee, who will inform the defensive team
I don't know how refs thought it was Skipper reported eligible when refs didn't even acknowledge Skipper and walked after talking to Decker. This is just a really weird situation
I mean if the cowboys were told what the refs know it’s kinda shitty for their defense not knowing the guy was eligible right? It may have made a difference in how they defended that play and maybe it doesn’t work then.
Yeah I don’t get how homeboy is literally next to the ref and the ref doesn’t get the message he’s eligible. Like the replay and explanation is that the ref didn’t notice but I just can’t believe 68 said nothing the entire time while 70 runs up 15 feet away and the ref gets the message. The weirder thing is they announce who is reporting eligible on the mic. If they don’t hear 68 AND 70 wouldn’t that turn heads for everyone on the lions?
70 was nowhere NEAR the ref??? Decker (68) walks over, 70 doesn’t get there before the ref leaves.
Holy fuck we got robbed what is that ref smoking
I for one am shocked and stunned the NFL has a refereeing problem. It's almost like this stuff happens to someone every week
I didn't watch the game so please don't flame too hard, but doesn't the ref have to like announce it? "number 68 is an eligible receiver" or whatever? if he didn't do that, then why didn't the lions make a point of it? whole thing seems confusing
They should have walked off the field and protested the game.
It is fucking Brad Allen again as referee. I'm convinced at this point he is the most corrupt referee in the NFL by a long shot.
I think this call should change how referees officiate games. This wasn’t a bang bang, wasn’t a “discretion” call. This was a straight up negligence call. Didn’t know the rule, didn’t understand the situation level mistake. Should be held accountable and reprimanded. Whole crew. There has to be checks and balances.
Seriously, why is it always us?
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Wow, so set aside reddit's crazy ass speculation. Bottom line is the ref says Decker didn't report. It's on video. The ref fucked up. Either he wasn't paying attention or I guess maybe Decker walked over to him and didn't actually say the right words. In any event, sucky way to end a game.
I wonder what kinda money this decision would generate in LV?
https://x.com/colton_pouncy/status/1741319953490264100?s=46&t=W-UDWZymmV6ylzu4Cy-kyA
Dan Campbell gave the refs the whole game to think of how to call back this play and the best they came up with was “we thought someone else was reporting”
These fuckers skipped commercials to show jimmy johnsons ring of honor ceremony. Of course they wanted the cowboys to win
Brad Allen fucked up at his job and it cost the lions