The NFL has had tons of controversies over the years, and their most recent one was one of the most insane endings to a game ever. It cost the Minnesota Vikings a win over the Los Angeles Rams.
The league has considered many rule changes, and it has both benefited and suffered from specific rules. One of the rules the league has suffered from is not being able to review plays where they should’ve called a penalty but didn’t.
The Minnesota Vikings found this out the hard way during their week eight Thursday Night Football match-up against the Los Angeles Rams as one singular play near the end of the game cost them a win, and the backlashed caused the NFL to make a statement.
On the play in question, Viking’s signal-caller Sam Darnold, who’s been having an outstanding season to this point, was sacked via his facemask by defensive lineman Byron Young. After all was said and done, there was no question that it should have been a penalty; however, it was not called for a few reasons.
NFL Rule Change Would Have Given The Vikings Another Chance
“The quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it,” said referee Tre Blake. He then added, “I did not have a look, and I did not see the face mask being pulled, obviously.”
The missed call stirred up so much controversy that an NFL spokesperson was forced to comment on the situation. “Yes, it’s likely that face mask will come up this offseason,” said Brian McCarthy during an interview with ProFootballTalk. It no
McCarthy added, “Instant replay and what plays should and should not be reviewable is part of the conversation every offseason, and it’s anticipated it will come up again. Teams may propose a rule change, and there have previously been a variety of proposals on which plays or if all plays should be reviewable.”
While the rule may be changed in the off-season, the sad truth is that the Vikings still have to live with the loss, and the team can only hope to bounce back next week as they are set to take on the Indianapolis Colts.
