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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Tyler Lauletta

Baffling False Start Call on Lions’ Taylor Decker Leaves NFL Fans in Disbelief

Lions Taylor Decker Detroit (Organization) Detroit Lions

Sunday night’s wild-card playoff game between the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams got off to a blistering start, with both teams scoring on their first three possessions.

With both offenses firing on all cylinders, it looked as though the final two minutes of the first half might feature even more scoring. But instead, a Lions drive was cut short prematurely due to what looked like a miscalled penalty from the officials.

Detroit was facing fourth-and-5 from just past midfield with a minute to play. The Lions left their offense on the field, though it was unclear whether they actually intended to call a play, or were just hoping to get the defense to jump offsides.

There was a light flurry of activity before the snap, and the entire stadium believed that the Lions had just stolen a cheap first down, but the referee saw things differently, calling Detroit offensive tackle Taylor Decker for a false start.

Watch the play and judge for yourself.

The Lions’ social media team had a bit of fun with the moment, cheekily putting an extended clip of the play on their feeds.

But fans were less amused, expressing frustration at what looked like a very clearly blown call.

The Lions would ultimately punt the ball away, and take a 21–17 lead into halftime.

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