NFL Rules Analyst Dean Blandino Identifies the Culprit in the Lions-Cowboys Officiating Controversy (VIDEO)
Dean Blandino, former NFL Vice President of Officiating and FOX NFL rules analyst, provided his perspective on the controversial penalty call during the late stages of the Detroit Lions-Dallas Cowboys game on Saturday evening.
In the fourth quarter, with the Lions trailing by a touchdown, Jared Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown for a touchdown with just 23 seconds remaining. Rather than opting for a tie, the Lions decided to go for a two-point conversion. Goff successfully completed a pass to offensive tackle Taylor Decker, but Decker was penalized for illegal touching. The officials stated that Decker failed to report as eligible, claiming that only No. 70 (Dan Skipper) had done so.
Despite the five-yard penalty, Lions' head coach Dan Campbell wanted his team to attempt the two-point conversion again. Following an incomplete pass and a Micah Parsons offside penalty, the Lions had one more opportunity, but Goff couldn't connect with James Mitchell on the final play, resulting in a 20-19 victory for the Cowboys.
During an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show," Blandino expressed his view that the officiating crew, led by head referee Brad Allen, was responsible for the controversy. He stated, "The Lions did not do anything wrong I have no doubt in my mind that 68 (Decker) said that he was reporting to the referee. You can't run that play without 68 I think he (Brad Allen) went too fast. I think there's some accountability on the officials' side as well He sees 70 coming in, he assumes it's 70 and goes too fast. I don't think the Lions did anything wrong by rule. I just think the environment created a situation where, quite frankly, Brad Allen assumed something that wasn't true."
When asked why the officials couldn't correct the situation, Blandino believed that Allen and his crew didn't recognize any wrongdoing in penalizing the Lions and, as a result, moved too hastily.
The loss dropped the Lions to an 11-5 record and impacted their chances of securing the top seed in the conference. Detroit is now positioned to finish either as the No. 2 or No. 3 seed.
| POLL | ||
3 JANVIER | 58 ANSWERS NFL Rules Analyst Dean Blandino Identifies the Culprit in the Lions-Cowboys Officiating Controversy (VIDEO) Did the Lions get "robbed"? | ||
| yes | 43 | 74.1 % |
| no | 15 | 25.9 % |
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