Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff was willing to risk punishment to send the NFL a message about a penalty that cost the team a win over the Dallas Cowboys Saturday night.
Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker was called for illegal touching on a play where he caught a pass that would have counted as a two-point conversion if it were ruled legal. The conversion would have put the Lions up 22-21 with 23 seconds to play.
Instead, Lions players and head coach Dan Campbell are fuming after their loss Saturday night. Per Adam Schefter with ESPN, the officiating crew claims offensive tackle Dan Skipper reported as eligible but Decker did not.
Referee Brad Allen told pool reporter @calvinwatkins that No. 70 Dan Skipper reported and No. 68 Taylor Decker did not.
The report: pic.twitter.com/4FWpUHmhxJ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 31, 2023
Detroit Lions QB sends NFL a risky message
Skipper denied telling the official he was eligible before the play. Video evidence seems to back Skipper’s story up. According to Andrew Siciliano with the NFL Network, Goff said after the game he was willing to risk a fine to say that Decker reported and Skipper did not:
“Pretty confused. What I do know, and I don’t know if I’ll get fined for this. But I do know that Decker reported. I do know that Dan Skipper did not. And I do know that they said that Dan Skipper did.”
Jared Goff: "Pretty confused. What I do know, and I don't know if I'll get fined for this. But I do know that Decker reported. I do know that Dan Skipper did not. And I do know that they said that Dan Skipper did."
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) December 31, 2023
Regardless of what the NFL will determine when they review this penalty, the Cowboys get the win.
Officiating has to get better. It’s getting to the point where the NFL needs to have officials wear body cameras with microphones so we can review some of these calls.
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