Controversy again? NFL officials' latest penalty mess leaves Lions at a loss

ARLINGTON, Texas – What a ball of confusion. The Detroit Lions had the sneaky design of a two-point conversion pass to 318-pound tackle Taylor Decker that might have won a thrilling Saturday night showdown had the play not been called back on a technicality.

Unless it should not have been.

The Dallas Cowboys squeaked out a 20-19 victory, but not without another layer of controversy attached to the officiating.

It was he-said, he-said. Referee Brad Allen contended – and announced to the Cowboys defense and the crowd at A&T Stadium – that tackle Dan Skipper and not Decker reported as an eligible tackle for the play.

The Lions, however, maintain that Skipper never reported himself as eligible and that implied that Allen somehow mixed it up. Replays showed that two linemen – Decker and Penei Sewell – approached Allen as the Lions huddled up. Then Skipper came running over as the other linemen walked away.

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What was actually said by the players and acknowledged by Allen is unclear. Yet clearly the versions don't match up.

"Very confused," Lions quarterback Jared Goff said afterward. "What I do know, and I don’t know if I’ll get fined for this, but I do know that Decker reported. I do know that Dan Skipper did not. I do know that they said that Dan Skipper did."

Lions coach Dan Campbell carefully measured his words, too, as he tried to explain what went down during his postgame news conference. Remember, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid was recently fined $100,000 for criticizing the officiating.

On the play, which followed Amon-Ra St. Brown knifing inside the pylon for an 11-yard TD reception, Decker slipped off the line and was uncovered in the back of the end zone. Goff floated a soft, easy pass.

Allen, though, said the Lions were guilty of two penalties on the play. He said that, in addition to the "illegal touching" flag, that Detroit was in an illegal formation based on where Skipper was lined up.

"I explain everything pre-game, to the T," Campbell said of the sequence. 

Without blasting Allen, Campbell said the explanation given to him was that Skipper reported and Decker didn't – the opposite of what his players said.

It's also true that had the officials let the conversion stand, the Cowboys (11-5) could have claimed they were jilted. After all, Allen alerted Dallas that Skipper – and not Decker – was the eligible tackle.

Either way, the NFL has another messy officiating sequence to explain.

"I did exactly what coach told me to do, and went to the ref, said 'report,' " Decker said. "You know, Dan brings up the possibility of those sorts of plays pregame, so I did what I was told to do. Did how we did it in practice all week, and that’s probably all I’m really going to touch on with that.”  

There's video showing that Goff apparently instructed Decker to leave the huddle and report to the official.

"I mean, see the video of it," Decker said. "It is what it is, I guess.”

Campbell was undeniably frustrated in trying to provide answers. But the man who dropped a virtual calling card for aggressiveness in his first news conference as Lions coach was cooler than many in his shoes might have been.

Regardless, there was no lack of aggressiveness. The fact that the Lions were rolling for a two-point conversion with 23 seconds on the clock further confirmed Campbell's style. He could have opted to kick a PAT and forced overtime.

"We were going for the win," Campbell said.

Just as he envisioned. When the Lions took possession at their 25-yard line with 1:41 remaining, Campbell told his players the expectation: They would drive the length of the field for a touchdown, then win on a two-point conversion.

That the Lions (11-5) nearly pulled it off is a testament to the culture that Campbell has instilled in a team that last week won the franchise's first division title in 30 years. In the second quarter, he called for a fake punt from his own 28-yard line and it worked with upback Jalen Reeves-Maybin connecting with Khalil Dorsey for a 30-yard completion.

Later in the second quarter, they went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Goff's pass into the end zone for Sam LaPorta was incomplete, but it proved to be an omen. In the third quarter, the Lions converted on fourth-and-two Goff's four-yard completion to LaPorta, which kept alive a 13-play, 74-yard go-ahead TD drive. 

Was there any doubt that the Lions would go for two, given the M.O. they've had under Campbell?

Dak Prescott certainly expected it.

"This guy is crazy," Prescott said. "Respectfully crazy. I love it. You're playing to win a game and not lose a game. Credit the mindset."

Prescott passed for 345 yards and two touchdowns to help the Cowboys finish undefeated at home for the first time since 1981. It was their closest finish yet this season on their own turf, which is why Prescott described the game's ending as "a roller coaster of thoughts."

After the Lions' conversion was wiped out, a Dallas goal-line interception was nullified by a penalty by Micah Parsons jumping offsides. Detroit's third attempt at the conversion ended with tight end James Mitchell dropping a low pass from Goff at the 1-yard line.

"That's a hell of a team," Prescott said. "Wouldn't be surprised if we see them again."

What a great idea. The way the game ended on Saturday night, it would be fitting if the Lions and Cowboys met again in the playoffs. If it happens, though, it would likely be in Detroit – with Dallas looking on track for a wild-card berth – where payback would add one more layer of motivation.