I apologize to Lions supporters. However, it doesn’t appear that the league office will be offering you an apology for the incorrect illegal-touching penalty that Taylor Decker was given on Saturday night.
With 0:23 remaining in the game, referee Brad Allen penalized Decker for the first of the Lions’ three unsuccessful two-point conversion attempts. The NFL effectively doubled down on this judgment on Tuesday.
It achieved this by making available a video that explains the correct procedure for players to declare themselves eligible before a play. Two plays from Detroit’s Week 17 primetime matchup defeat to Dallas are included in the memo sent to all 32 teams in the league.
Dan Skipper, a reserve offensive lineman for the Lions, is shown in the first play of the game, successfully reporting as eligible. The second play, meanwhile, shows Detroit’s botched late-game two-point conversion try, which the NFL claims was not properly reported in accordance with the rules of the league.
The NFL sent a memo to clubs today regarding players reporting as eligible, including this video featuring the #Cowboys–#Lions game … pic.twitter.com/HyJCqIqGNv
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 2, 2024
The video’s narrator was Walt Anderson, senior vice president of officiating training and development for the NFL. He said in the video, “An offensive player with the number 50–79 or 90–99 is allowed to line up as an eligible pass receiver. Just a reminder to clubs and players.
The player must notify the referee of any changes to his eligibility status right away. The referee will notify the defensive team and broadcast the news to the stadium prior to the play, giving the defense time to match players to prevent trickery and to maintain fairness.
Jared Goff had just led the Lions down the field on a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive before the contentious two-point attempt. Goff’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown sealed the drive and reduced the Cowboys’ lead to one, 20-19.
What was the role of Dan Campbell in this fiasco?
Dan Campbell, the head coach of Detroit, had to decide whether to continue running his offense for the two-point conversion.
He chose to do precisely that, and the Lions found themselves embroiled in controversy.
Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator for Detroit, created a stunning trick play on the next snap, with Decker being the intended receiver. Examining game tape showed that the experienced left tackle was compelled to report to Allen as eligible before the play, which he did.
However, Allen informed the AT&T Stadium audience and the Dallas defense that Skipper was eligible rather than Decker. Before the disastrous two-point conversion attempt, Decker, Penei Sewell, and Skipper, who had declared himself eligible earlier in the game, had jogged over to Allen.