The referee crew was already criticized for the alleged penalty against the Detroit Lions during an attempted two-point conversion in the Dallas Cowboys’ home win (20:19) on Saturday. As it turned out, another mistake probably led to the chaotic finish in the first place.
The question of whether offensive tackle Taylor Decker had registered with referee Brad Allen as an “eligible receiver” before his supposed catch in the end zone for the Lions or not caused waves afterwards and on Sunday. Video images at least suggest that Decker actually registered and not teammate Dan Skipper, who was also standing near the referee but probably didn’t say anything.
This happened in the final seconds of the game. But the referee crew apparently made a mistake beforehand, which probably made the much-discussed situation possible in the first place. Even before the two-minute warning, the Cowboys were penalized by tight end Peyton Hendershot for tripping, which resulted in a 15-yard penalty. On that play, running back Tony Pollard gained seven yards on 1st down.
But as “ESPN” found out after studying the video material in detail, Hendershot was not the culprit, but rather the victim. Opponent Aidan Hutchinson was the one who stretched out his leg and Hendershot stumbled over it. It would therefore have been correct to punish Hutchinson for tripping. That would have given the Cowboys an important new 1st down and made it much easier for them to continue running down the clock instead of trying to get back into field goal range with passes.
NFL probably removes referee crew for playoffs
They ultimately managed a field goal, but left 1:41 on the clock. Enough time for the guests to march into the red zone again and score a touchdown through Amon-Ra St. Brown. This in turn led to a sequence of three two-point attempts, with the Lions’ successful version obviously being called back incorrectly.
Both teams have good reason to complain about Brad Allen’s refereeing crew, which, according to an “ESPN” report, will probably not be used in the playoffs.