Sitting at the edge of their seats, the NFL world watched with bated breath as the Cowboys-Lions game came down to the wire. With 25 seconds to go, the Lions were just a 2-point conversion away from crowning a splendid comeback against the Dallas side that has been flawless at home for 15 straight games. It would’ve been a historical win for them if not for the unbelievable penalty.

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With a tricky play, QB Jared Goff was able to get the ball to OL Taylor Decker for a perfect 2-point conversion, and a gusty one at that. Yet, the referees threw the flags, changing the scoreboard from 21 to 20 in favor of the Lions back to 20-19 for the home team.

Social media was livid. The aftermath of the game shows there were loopholes in the referee’s account of what happened. According to official Brad Allen’s account from his pool report, he noted that “an ineligible number [occupied] an ineligible position.” 

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Initially, ESPN’s angle, which even Shannon Sharpe noted, was that Taylor Decker had not reported to the referee. As Dan Campbell’s Lions were attempting a trick play, they had sent extra OLs to the field, but they had to report this to the referees before the play for it to become eligible.

But later shots and angles showed that no. 68 Decker indeed reported, and the referee acknowledged it as well:

Thus, immediately, there were fans calling for an investigation into the call and the firing of the referee responsible for it. Many also did note that the job of officials is a thankless and very difficult job at times, but noted that at such a crucial point and with such blatant disregard for what happened — maybe things should be changed.

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Twitter Erupts at Lions-Cowboys’ ‘Official’ Ending ft. Brad Allen

Fans were quick to provide evidence of the true events and voice their two cents on the whole fiasco. It was all anyone could talk about on X after the Week 17 game. Here are a few reactions after Brad Allen’s call robbed the Lions of a win:

This user didn’t mind accusing Brad of fixing the game. He wrote, “How much did Allen have on this game?”

Even Rich Eisen chimed in:

In the post-game presser, Jared Goff acknowledged the probability of getting fined and said, “I know that Decker reported, I know that Skipper did not and I know they said that Dan Skipper did. So, it’s unfortunate”

If you search ‘Brad Allen’ on Elon Musk’s precious platform, you won’t find many children-friendly comments. That’s how infuriated the fans are with the outcome. And yet, the NFL has not addressed this publically.

According to Shannon Sharpe, the refs threw another flag that will act as the saving grace if this call were to be turned over. It was somewhat of a safety blanket in place. The league’s officiating crew has been bombarded with hate in recent weeks due to similar calls. As of yet, the league remains silent. So, it seems not much will be changed even though there is such widespread agreement that the Lions were wronged.

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