It does not look like the NFL feels sorry for the Detroit Lions over what happened on Saturday.
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the NFL has no plans to change the rules on players reporting as eligible after Saturday night’s fiasco in Dallas.
To make matters worse, the league is actually placing blame on the Detroit Lions for what happened.
“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL does not plan to change the procedure for players reporting as eligible. The league views the situation as an effort by the Lions to engage in deception and gamesmanship that backfired.”
Following Amon-Ra St. Brown’s touchdown reception that brought the team to within a point inside the final minute of the game. Jared Goff found offensive tackle Taylor Decker in the end zone for what appeared to be a successful two-point conversion.
However, Decker was flagged for illegal touching and the conversion was nullified.
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Replays showed Decker approaching referee Brad Allen before the play, presumably to report himself as an eligible receiver.
Allen said after the game that offensive tackle Dan Skipper, not Decker, was the one who reported as eligible.
Florio also explained the Lions included an added layer of deception by having Skipper and Decker both approach Allen before the snap.
“Basically, the Lions wanted the Cowboys to think Skipper was reporting as eligible and that Decker was not,” he wrote. “Which would have caused the Cowboys to cover Skipper, not Decker, when the play unfolded. The problem is that, in trying to confuse the Cowboys, the Lions confused Allen.”
Despite the league not changing any rules, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported a “large part” of Allen’s crew won’t be working the postseason because of multiple missed calls over the course of the season.
