As a Lions fan, that was painful. And more or less what I expect even though this year has been a winner overall.
Yeah, the Lions overcommitted to the 2 point conversion.
As a life long, looong-suffering Lions fan, i ain’t mad. Yeah i would’ve liked to win that one, and that flag taking those 2 points off the board hit my gut like a motherfuck, but I’m OK with this game. I’m a-ok going for 2 every single time at the end there. That’s why i love Dan Campbell. We didn’t get it tonight, but we still won the division and we’re still at least a three seed. And we held the Cowboys to 20 in Dallas on night Lamb was in beast mode.
This ain’t the same ol Lions. We went down by 7 with 2 minutes left and marched down the field like we owned it.
Hold the phone. After seeing a replay, it looks like Decker did report.
So, now i am pissed. Lions won that game, but the frigging refs got in our way again
Everything I’ve seen points to the ref absolutely screwing the pooch on this one.
If I’ve seen correctly, this is the same crew that shat all over the end of the Green Bay - Kansas City game a few weeks back.
Indeed it was the same crew led by referee Brad Allen, who should probably have his white hat taken away from him.
In Brad Allen’s post game interview, he doubles down on what a worthless ref he actually is:
Allen: “So, we had a situation where if you were going to have an ineligible number occupy an eligible position, you have to report that to the referee. On this particular play, number 70, who had reported during the game a couple of times, reported to me as eligible. Then he lined up at the tackle position. So, actually, he didn’t have to report at all. Number 68, who ended up going downfield and touching the pass, did not report. Therefore, he is an ineligible touching a pass that goes beyond the line, which makes it a foul. So, the issue is, number 70 did report, number 68 did not.”
Is it possible, dipshit, you were too fucking sloppy-stupid to notice who actually declared to you? Number 70 lined up as a fucking tackle and 68 went out for the reception, but yet you’re not the one who got it wrong. 
At this point it’s glaringly obvious the ref screwed up. It’s amazing that the coach would be heavily fined if he told the truth in the post game interview but the ref doesn’t get fined for costing the victory and possibly changing the outcome of the entire season.
I’m curious about the procedure here.
I recall that it is typical that when a lineman is reporting as eligible, the referee announces it prior to the snap. Presumably because the defense needs to be aware.
Was such an announcement made? I seem to remember it wasn’t in this case.
So let’s say your guy reports as eligible and no announcement occurs. What’s supposed to happen? If the defense isn’t alerted, it doesn’t seem right for your guy to go downfield and receive. Is it the offense’s obligation to ensure that the announcement is made with the proper number before running the play?
This is a genuine question because I don’t know how often this sort of thing happens. I’m sure this isn’t the first time in the history of the NFL such a thing has happened. There has to be a process. If it’s the offense’s obligation to make sure that they hear the announcement then they definitely screwed up and earned the flag.
BUT, either way, if 68 reported as eligible and the ref acknowledged it, regardless of what happened after that, the ref at least played a part in the screwup. I hope the league puts out a statement of some kind because this absolutely affected the outcome of this game and fans expect and deserve an explanation.
When 68 reported to him he immediately ran to the line to tell the other officials and the defense. When he turned 70 wasn’t near him yet. Only one player can report as eligible and a different player can’t do it for someone else.
Stefanski inherited the team from a 1-31 stretch and turned it around, too, although not all of that was this year. They’ve faced a much harder schedule and far more adversity than Detroit (at least double the injuries to key players) and had no viable QB play until they picked up Joe Flacco off the couch and yet they’re 11-5.
Campbell has a valid case, but I think what the Browns did this year is more impressive by a good margin.
With how badly Flacco played for the Jets, there is no universe in which they would have signed him off the couch this year.
Not sure what you mean here, because multiple linemen can report as eligible on the same play.
From ESPN:
“Video showed Decker having a conversation with (referee) Allen, who then said something to the Cowboys’ defense.”
Allen clearly got the players mixed up, which cost the Lions the game and possibly affected their playoff seed.
The Lions cannot say this out loud, and the officials will not say this out loud.
This is going to fire the Lions the fuck up in the playoffs.
mmm
Here is an article that describes what went down, and how magnificently the officials screwed up.
mmm
I hope so!
That was a hell of a rollercoaster ride. The Lions convert the two points in the final seconds of regulation time! They’re going to win!!
Wait, what? The conversion is called back? Shiiiiiiit. Oh well, let’s just kick the extra point and put it into OT.
Huh? Campbell the gamble is going for two points again? is he running late for someplace he has to be, or something?
I kinda think once the first 2 point attempt was called back Campbell should have just listened to what the football gods were trying to tell him and just taken the PAT. Maybe he was being so aggressive because the only thing at stake was whether the Lions would be the #3 seed or still have a chance at #2. I hope he’s not quite so “fuck OT, let’s just get this over with” in a playoff situation.
I told myself early in the season that I will never criticize Campbell for being too aggressive.
I love it.
mmm
I don’t know. Like I said a few posts upthread, it’s easy to praise an aggressive play call as bold and brilliant when it succeeds, and criticize it as a stupid decision when it fails. And there’s no doubt that Campbell has built a winning attitude and culture in a team that’s sorely lacked that for a long time.
But…you are down by one in the final seconds and choose a 2 point attempt over the safe PAT. I looked up the general odds: 40-55% chance of converting 2. Let’s say it’s 50%. 90-95% of making a PAT. Let’s take the low end and call it 90%. So you succeed at the 2 point conversion and it’s called back on a technicality. Now, if you try to convert a second 2 point attempt, the odds are down to 50% of 50%, or 25%. My math or logic may not be quite right here, but in any case, you’re really pushing your luck at that point. And what’s it saying to your defense? “I’d rather take the long shot of winning right now than the 90% chance to tie and trust my D to do their job”. Just take the extra point and live to play another quarter. If Campbell did what he did there in a playoff situation I’d be pissed.
Agreed. But my point is that I am not criticizing the call.
In going for it, Campbell is telling his guys, I believe in you. He is saying, this is yours, go get it.
There is value in that, even though it is not always going to go as you want it to.
mmm
Your logic here isn’t right at all. Going for it again doesn’t reduce the odds of scoring. Being further back from the end zone would, and not running their preferred play might. But you absolutely don’t multiply the numbers together to figure out how likely the newest attempt is.