Face mask calls likely to become reviewable after controversial Vikings-Rams ending
The missed facemask foul on Vikings' Sam Darnold sparks debate for instant video review at the next season's committee meeting.
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Byron Young tugs on Sam Darnold's facemask (Image via IMAGO/X)
Even though the Vikings-Rams game ended on controversial terms, something positive did come out of it. A clear facemask foul on Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, which the referees missed but the entire football world saw, has given league authorities something to think about.
Fan outrage aside, analysts and former players were in awe after seeing countless replays of the final play. Rams Byron Young grabbed Darnold’s face mask as he was about to throw the ball. However, the force of the pull brought the Vikings quarterback down inside his own red zone, resulting in a safety.
Despite the Rams’ ten-point lead, the Vikings still had time to close the gap, but the safety cost them the game and a sixth win of the season. Darnold said little about the facemask foul. Instead, he focused more on what he should have done better before the incident.
The facemask—it is what it is… We could’ve done a lot to not put ourselves in the situation that we were in.
Sam Darnold said
However, the competition committee had proof in their hands, and now it seems they might do something about it. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Committee will discuss allowing reviews to teams for such fouls.
Yes, it’s likely that face mask will come up this offseason.
Chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told PFT via email on Friday
The NFL says it's "likely" that the question of making face mask fouls subject to replay review will come up in the offseason. https://t.co/FecMRsgpAW
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 25, 2024
The referee claimed he was blindsided during Sam Darnold’s facemask foul
No matter how much the referees get it right, they will always stay in the headlines because of a bad decision that changed the course of the game. Tra Blake, who passed judgment on Darnold’s facemask foul, came under the scanner.
When grilled by the media post-game, Blake claimed he did not see the foul from his position.
The quarterback [Sam Darnold] was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it. I did not have a look, and I did not see the face mask being pulled, obviously. The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a look at it.
Referee Tra Blake said
This wasn’t the only occasion Blake and his crew found themselves in shallow waters. During the Falcons-Chiefs game in Atlanta, they missed a defensive pass interference call on Kyle Pitts inside the Chiefs’ red zone.
Same ref crew from Thursday's Vikings/Rams game didn't call this pass interference at the end of the Falcons/Chiefs game in Week 3
— Adam Patrick (@adampatrickNFL) October 25, 2024
Probably didn't see it…pic.twitter.com/5zXrSLXilt
The Falcons lost that game, but a successful DPI would have awarded them a touchdown, which never happened.
The refereeing in general has been bad. Not only this year but for the past few, creating a sense of distrust among fans. Recently, the league committee even disallowed the use of video reviews, which could have made the game much more transparent.
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Ishan Misra
(3023 Articles Published)