Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed visible frustration following a contentious penalty that nullified a potential go-ahead 2-point conversion in Saturday night’s defeat to the Dallas Cowboys.
The officials penalized Lions offensive lineman Taylor Decker after he caught a pass, seemingly the game-winning play, with 23 seconds left. Decker was cited for an illegal touching penalty due to not properly reporting as eligible.
Ultimately, the Cowboys thwarted the Lions’ 2-point attempt, securing a 20-19 victory. Post-game, Campbell voiced his frustration, stating, “I don’t like losing, and that’s what happened. We lost, and that bothers me. I don’t like having an L, so that’s the frustration.”
Contradictory accounts emerged from the Lions and the referees. Quarterback Jared Goff asserted that Decker had reported as an eligible receiver, while backup offensive tackle Dan Skipper had not. However, referee Brad Allen, in a pool report, asserted the opposite, claiming that Skipper was reported as eligible and Decker was not.
A video showed Decker conversing with Allen, who relayed information to the Cowboys’ defense. Allen clarified in the pool report, “Therefore, [Decker] is ineligible to touch a pass that goes beyond the line, which makes it a foul. So, the issue is, number 70 did report, number 68 did not.”
In the aftermath of the loss, Decker and Skipper opted not to delve into details about the penalty. Decker stated he did “exactly what Coach told me to do,” while Skipper commented, “I have very few words that aren’t going to get me fined.”
With 1:41 left in Detroit’s final drive and trailing 20-13, Campbell informed his players that they were going for the win and would maintain an aggressive approach. Despite a late 11-yard touchdown from Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown, bringing the score to 20-19, the Lions faltered on three 2-point conversion attempts. Two attempts were nullified by penalties, one against the Lions and one against the Cowboys, and the final play resulted in an incomplete pass to tight end James Mitchell.
Goff expressed his confusion about the flag on Decker, stating, “Yeah, that sucks. It’s unfortunate, man. I don’t know if I’ve had this feeling before where you feel like you’ve won and you didn’t. With that being said, though, we had shots at it in the next two plays.”
