A Missed Call Irates the Masses

Dec 31, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans react during the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Not many calls (or lack thereof) have the potential to be remembered for years, but Thursday night delivered one of those. It was late in the fourth quarter, the two-minute warning had already passed, and the Vikings were out of timeouts, close to their own endzone, when the referees came into focus.

A Missed Call Irates the Masses

missed call
Oct 24, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Byron Young (0) tackles Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) for a safety in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Sure, reaching overtime was an unlikely scenario, but the Vikings were robbed of having that chance. Quarterback Sam Darnold dropped back, and linebacker Byron Young pressured him. Darnold went down for a safety, but it was looking ugly in that moment.

The passer was irate, his teammates were angry, and the coaching staff hadn’t been this furious in a long time. It didn’t take long for the replay to confirm the suspicion: Young grabbed Darnold’s facemask. The flag, however, never came out.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweeted: “That was an obvious face mask foul that went uncalled on the safety that almost certainly has decided this game. Vikings still had a long way to go but that’s pretty bad.”

The internet, as always, responded to the play, and the reactions were quite mixed. Some want the rules to be changed so facemask penalties are reviewable; others think the league is fixed or that the officials should be fired, suspended, or fined.

At the end of the day, those referees are human beings and are allowed to make mistakes, although it is quite hard to come up with an explanation for missing that kind of foul.

Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans react late during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Tra Blake, who was in charge of the game, still tried to give an explanation.

He said after the game: “The quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it,” Blake said. “I did not have a look, and I did not see the face mask being pulled, obviously.”

Sure, he was facing the opposite direction, but the fact that Darnold was suddenly looking backward because of the facemask pull should’ve been enough evidence to come to the right conclusion.

The umpire could’ve also made the call, but according to Blake, his colleague Carl Paganelli couldn’t see it either.

“The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a good look at it,” Blake said. “He was blocked out as well. So that was the thing. We did not see it, so we couldn’t call it.”

Head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about the play after the game, but he wasn’t interested in paying a fine or in using the missed call as a cause for the loss.

“It looked like he got a pretty good amount of face mask there,” O’Connell responded. “I’m not going to get into the call, or no-call, or all that stuff. I talked to our team, officiating and all that stuff … for us to talk about that, for us to seek comfort in that, is not how we’re going to respond to this. It’s just not going to happen. I’m going to do the same thing right now. I really don’t have a comment on that. Looked like he got a piece of the face mask, but they didn’t think so, so they didn’t throw the flag.”

NFL: San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings
Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and head coach Kevin O’Connell talk before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The player involved, Darnold, of course, was questioned, too.

“The facemask, it is what it is. I thought we could have done a lot to not put ourselves in the situation that we were in. … So we’ve just got to continue to play better and not put ourself in that position to begin with.”

He’s right. The defense was torn apart by veteran signal-caller Matthew Stafford, as neither the pass rush nor the coverage unit could make plays. On offense, self-inflicted wounds like pre-snap penalties and a crucial drop in the redzone didn’t increase the winning chances, and the 64 rushing yards are another element.

At the end of the day, the game officials should’ve called the facemask, but the Vikings can only blame themselves for being down eight points with under two minutes (and 95 yards) to go in the first place.

A cleaner game will be required when the Indianapolis Colts come to town next week.


Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt