We at Touchdown Wire have had issues with referee Brad Allen before, and with good reason. And now, it’s entirely possible that Allen and his crew cost the Detroit Lions a win they should have had.
Here was the situation. The Lions went right down the field against the Dallas Cowboys down 20-19 starting with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter. The Lions had that much time because Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy called three straight passes before a field goal that put Dallas up 20-13. Dallas then gave quarterback Jared Goff all the soft coverage he could ever dream of having, which allowed Goff to drive his team downfield and hit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for an 11-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left.
Then, head coach Dan Campbell called for a two-point conversion, as is his wont, and it looked for all the world that Goff hit offensive tackle Taylor Decker in the end zone for the successful try that would have given the Lions a 21-20 lead. But Allen called an illegal touch pass on the play, saying that Decker didn’t report as an eligible receiver.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after the game,”70 [tackle Dan Skipper] reported, 68 [Decker] didn’t. That was the explanation.”
Well, here’s the problem with that. ESPN, who had the game, had clear video evidence of Goff telling Decker to report as eligible. And there is clear video evidence of Decker going over to do just that.
ESPN just showed another angle. Jared Goff literally sends Taylor Decker and tells him to report as eligible. I mean…. Wow. https://t.co/5rJoI0AcJT pic.twitter.com/vuyQCmnJkY
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 31, 2023
Longtime NFL offensive tackle and football analyst Mitchell Schwartz had an excellent blow-by-blow breakdown of what happened…. and what should have happened.
It seems like the refs messed up. I’m going to be really curious to hear what the operation was. Looks like Skipper is saying “I didn’t say a F******* word” so I wonder if Decker reported secretly but they assumed it was Skipper because they’re both tall?? I don’t get it.
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) December 31, 2023
Here’s the problem with that play: there’s an element of secrecy that the guy coming in is NOT eligible. Decker doesn’t want it to be obvious he is. So the ref autopiloted to 70, and Decker is the one actually reporting, but doesn’t want to make it too obvious. What an error.
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) December 31, 2023
And another thing: it’s only an illegal formation because they considered Decker ineligible. Had he been eligible the formation would be totally legal. You can see the WR point himself off the line and drop back as he’s getting aligned to make sure he’s off the ball. pic.twitter.com/w8Luqpmj8W
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) December 31, 2023
And for the record here’s the video. The ref absolutely looks at Decker and nods at him. So I’m not entirely sure but it seems obvious he saw 70 run on the field and assumed he was the reporter. And even after Decker reports to him he just doesn’t seem to hear and input it. pic.twitter.com/VGWdNGFXD2
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) December 31, 2023
As Schwartz said, this would have been a legal formation had the eligibility not been in question. A nd you can see Allen running away from the tackles as they’re clearly trying to report as eligible.
“I’m guessing that Brad Allen, based on his mannerisms, and his eyes… where his hat is looking, he never recognized [Decker],” ESPN rules analyst and former NFL referee John Parry told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after the fact. “It’s not reviewable. What you need to do in that situation when the game is on the line… remember that the clock is stopped. You just had six points. So now, we’re going to go for two, so there’s no rush here, Take your time. Make sure you know who’s participating. They’re going for two. Slow everything down, make sure you have it correct. Make sure the defense knows who is eligible, and who is not. I think in this case, when you watch Brad, and his movements, and him focusing on No. 70 [Skipper], I don’t think that 68 [Decker] and Brad Allen ever connected.”
You could argue that it’s Decker’s responsibility to get Allen’s attention, but as Allen was running over to Dallas’ defense to let them know who was eligible. Decker thought Allen heard him.
Or… it could be even worse.
Dan Skipper said he did not report as eligible to the officials on the 2pt play that got called back. Decker said he reported.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) December 31, 2023
Sure appears Dan Campbell said he went thru the trick play in full detail with the refs before the game which means…goodness gracious.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) December 31, 2023
If that’s the case, Allen got the reporting lineman wrong.
Here’s the pool report, in which Allen appears to have gotten confused because Skipper had reported eligible to him earlier in the game.
Referee Brad Allen told pool reporter @calvinwatkins that No. 70 Dan Skipper reported and No. 68 Taylor Decker did not.
The report: pic.twitter.com/4FWpUHmhxJ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 31, 2023
And we now have a situation where one official is lying, or several members if the Detroit Lions are lying. That’s what Allen set up.
"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."
– Lions QB Jared Goff on the illegal touching penalty pic.twitter.com/z0NWaoUo22
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 31, 2023
Allen probably isn’t lying — he’s going on his own incorrect interpretation of the situation and the rule. But given every other grievous error he’s made this season, Brad Allen should never be allowed to have this position in the NFL ever again.
It’s as simple as that.
