Vikings-Rams ‘Thursday Night Football’ game ends with blatantly missed penalty by wearing a face mask

The Los Angeles Rams’ final snap in a 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday was a fairly obvious missed call.

Down eight points with 1:46 remaining and no timeouts, the Vikings had to travel 95 yards for a TD and make just a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime. They didn’t get far, as Rams linebacker Byron Young overcame two blockers to sack Sam Darnold and secure a safety.

However, it was abundantly clear just watching the play that Young had brought down Darnold by grabbing his facemask and grabbing it, which should have provided new life for the Vikings with a 15-yard penalty.

The additional replay reinforced how bad the missed call was. Darnold’s head was pulled 90 degrees to the left during the takedown:

Unfortunately, penalties for wearing a face mask are not reviewable.

The penalty was so obvious that Young grabbed his head after the play as if he had committed a foul, rather than sealing the game in Los Angeles’ favor. Instead, the Rams got two points and the ball, kneeling down the clock to end what was a rare competitive Thursday Night Football game.

You know it’s a huge mistake when the officials don’t even try to deny it after the game. Talk to a pool reporterReferee Tra Blake basically said that none of the officials saw Young beat Darnold:

Vikings players and coaches were visibly unhappy when the replay was shown, and some of the NFL players watching weren’t happy either:

It should be noted that this play did not cost the Vikings the game, just the opportunity to make it a game again. Even if a facemask was called, Minnesota still had 80 yards to travel in 1 minute, 36 seconds, not to mention a two-point attempt and overtime. There were many reasons the Vikings lost, such as Matthew Stafford’s four assists.

However, it’s a poor way to end a game, and an argument could be made that perhaps penalties for wearing a face mask should be reviewable. Then again, the most dramatic play the Rams were involved in was a push to make pass interference calls reviewable, and it ended up getting so bad that the NFL abandoned it after one season.