Detroit Lions Ripped For Trying To 'Trick' The NFL's Referees

Social Media Detectives Are Now Criticizing The Detroit Lions For Trying To ‘Trick’ The NFL’s Referees During Controversial Game-Changing Play

December 31, 2023, 4:34pm ESTBy Darrelle Lincoln

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Fans were furious with the referees after a controversial call resulted in a 20-19 loss for the Detroit Lions against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Lions successfully tricked the Dallas Cowboys in their two-point conversion attempt but they ultimately tricked the Brad Allen-led officiating crew into thinking No. 70, not No. 68, was ruled eligible for the two-point conversion attempt.

Dan Skipper checked into the game as an eligible receiver, and the Lions ran a play-action pass. Goff found left tackle Taylor Decker wide open for the conversion, but he was called for illegal touching after failing to report to the referees as an eligible receiver.

Video shows Decker approach a referee, along with Skipper and Penei Sewell, for a conversation before the play, but the referees never acknowledged him as an eligible receiver.

Here is @WXYZDetroit ground level video of the Taylor Decker two-point conversion.

•Decker and the Lions celebrated for a long time before realizing there was a flag.

•Dan Campbell repeatedly says “I told you!” to referee Brad Allen. pic.twitter.com/WlGXDz21oh
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) December 31, 2023

Refs said No. 70 Dan Skipper declared, but not No. 68 Taylor Decker. After the game, both players spoke on the flag that cost them a road win.

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Dan Campbell, Jared Goff, Decker, and Skipper all say Decker reported as eligible. It appears the ref may have confused which player declared.

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Fans online called out the Lions for trying to be cute and trick the Cowboys, which they did, but they also tricked the refs.

From what I can see the ref clearly indicates 70 as being eligible. Looks like Lions were maybe trying to get cute and trick the Cowboys into thinking 70 was declaring and instead ended up confusing the ref? I mean he announces who's eligible anyways so why bother? Keep it simple https://t.co/cK0iga7RRV
— Michael Laclef (@MikeLaclef) December 31, 2023

What happened here is the Lions tried to get cute and trick the defense about who reported and they tricked the official
— Jerry Johnson III (@jjohn2j3) December 31, 2023

The lions tried to get cute and trick the defense by sending 3 big boys over there to report and they even confused the refs 🤣 LMAO
— FaRKaSCaST (@farkascast) December 31, 2023

Lions got a little too cute by trying to trick the Cowboys. Instead they tricked the refs.
— Big Stupid Face (@emo_kirk) December 31, 2023

Why are we not talking about 58 also reporting as eligible if we are assuming 68 Decker reported eligible on the way to talk to the ref while hearing a screaming 70 running in reporting eligible? 🤷🏻‍♂️ The Lions got too cute with their trick play, and it cost them.
— META-TRCH🛢️🔋🎞️💵🚀 (@Young_15bull) December 31, 2023

The Lions heard the call over the PA from the official. Being too cute got them in trouble, and I’m over Campbell’s defense, “I told the officials 4 hours earlier about a trick play.”
— Russell Frantz (@rdfgrapevine) December 31, 2023

The Detroit Lions got too cute trying to trick Dallas on that play. Int backfired. Even after that they had a chance to tie the game but Dan Campbell went for it instead of kicking a FG. He was the bigger buffoon than Mike on this day. lol
— Ashish Cliff Singh 🇮🇳 (@Phenom316) December 31, 2023

Here’s a simple summary of #Lions illegal 2 pt. try vs. #DallasCowboys

Lions got cute, had three different linemen go at the ref in effort to trick the defense (which by rule gets to know who is eligible) and they ended up tricking the ref. Like most #NFL cuteness, backfired.
— Shane Deel 🌵 (@TheRedBearister) December 31, 2023

Referee Brad Allen spoke to reporters after the game and stood by the call, saying Skipper did report as eligible.

Allen: “So, we had a situation where if you were going to have an ineligible number occupy an eligible position, you have to report that to the referee. On this particular play, number 70, who had reported during the game a couple of times, reported to me as eligible. Then he lined up at the tackle position. So, actually, he didn’t have to report at all. Number 68, who ended up going downfield and touching the pass, did not report. Therefore, he is an ineligible touching a pass that goes beyond the line, which makes it a foul. So, the issue is, number 70 did report, number 68 did not.”

With the loss, the Lions’ shot at the No. 1 overall seed is a pretty big longshot, and even earning the second seed feels extremely unlikely.