The Detroit Lions came up just short against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night, suffering a 20-19 loss after failing to convert a two-point conversion three times. However, many folks believe that Brad Allen and the refs made an incorrect call by ruling Taylor Decker as an ineligible receiver on the first attempt, which would have been successful if it weren't for the penalty. After the game, Allen took a second to explain the decision.
Whenever an offensive lineman goes out for a pass as a receiver, they have to report as eligible so that the referees know that they can go out and catch a pass instead of just sitting on the line and blocking. Allen claimed that Decker did not report as eligible, while Dan Skipper did, leading his crew to throw a flag to negate the play.
The Lions ended up tricking Brad Allen into penalizing them
Allen's explanation is somewhat confusing, because Decker said after the game that he reported as eligible, while Skipper said that he didn't. As it turns out, this was a designed bit of trickery from Campbell, who wanted Skipper to fake reporting as eligible to throw off the Cowboys. He outlined this idea to the refs before the game, but they still ended up falling for the trick themselves, and it cost Detroit the game.
There have been a lot of wild endings to games throughout the NFL's storied history, but this is among the craziest of the bunch. Certainly that won't provide any solace to the Lions and their fans, especially since Allen is practically admitting he fell for Campbell's trick that was designed to fool the Cowboys. So it's probably safe to say that Allen and his crew won't be getting invited to Detroit anytime soon.
Follow Us
Subscribe