The Los Angeles Rams prevailed in their Thursday Night Football matchup versus the visiting Minnesota Vikings, 30-20, benefiting immensely from a healthy Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. They also got a bit of a boost from some stunning officiating late in the game.
Trailing 28-20 with less than two minutes remaining and starting from the Vikings’ own five-yard line, quarterback Sam Darnold incurred what was ruled a sack in the end zone, also known as a safety. The play effectively secured the win for the Rams, who took a knee on the next three snaps to run out the clock. However, everyone who watched the situation unfold could see that linebacker Byron Young pulled Darnold down by his face mask.
Although it would have obviously been difficult for Minnesota to drive 80 yards for a touchdown and possible game-tying two-point conversion in a minute and a half, the team deserved the opportunity to try. Many were baffled by the mistake and thereby compelled to voice their strong dissatisfaction.
“Can’t see a facemask 3 feet in front of them, but we want refs to decide what is and isn’t a ‘hip drop’ tackle in real time,” three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt posted on X. “Facemask must be reviewable,” Pro Football Talk said, expressing a sentiment that plenty of supporters will echo following the no-call.
The aspect of the prime-time gaffe that enraged and perplexed people most was the fact that there was an official standing behind Darnold when the should-be penalty occurred. “This ref literally must be blind,” Warren Sharp posted. “Staring RIGHT AT the face mask, no call.”
Interestingly, the referee in question, Tra Blake, offered an explanation that directly refuted public opinion.
Official reveals why a flag was not thrown near end of Vikings-Rams
“Well on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me so I did not have a good look at it,” he told pool reporter Calvin Watkins, via Dane Mizutani of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I did not have a look, and I did not see the facemask being pulled obviously. The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a look at it. He was blocked out as well. So that was the thing, we did not see it so we couldn’t call it.”
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The Vikings will surely not feel any better about the ending of Thursday’s game after Blake’s answer. Plenty of fans are demanding that more accountability be taken for the costly blunder, particularly since it did not initially appear that the referee’s view was terribly obstructed. In any case, Minnesota will be forced to move forward to Week 9 and try to get back in the win column.
While there is no denying the potential impact of the missed face-mask penalty, the Vikings still had opportunities to overcome the Rams. The defense astonishingly could not bring down Matthew Stafford for a sack early in the second quarter, instead succumbing to his Houdini escape act and allowing a Cooper Kupp touchdown that tied the score at the time. Minnesota was also unable to thwart Los Angeles’ final touchdown of the evening, a 10-yard pass to Demarcus Robinson (two catches for two scores) with 6:17 on the clock.
Those lapses undeniably contributed to the loss. But officiating botches simply cannot happen, especially in a critical juncture of the game. The NFL may have no other choice but to at least consider making this specific penalty reviewable.