Vikings, Like Bucs, Screwed By Blown Face Mask Penalty On “Thursday Night Football”
October 25th, 2024
First Bucky Irving, now Sam Darnold.
It happened again.
Three weeks ago the Bucs were screwed out of a win when rookie running back Bucky Irving was dragged down by a blatant face mask late in the loss to the Dixie Chicks on “Thursday Night Football.”
No call.
If the face mask on Irving’s run was called, it would have nullified a holding play on Graham Barton and also eaten up some clock.
Face masks are not reviewable flags. The Bucs were trying to run the clock out at the time and ended up losing when Atlanta kicker Younghoe Koo booted a 52-yard field goal as time ran out to send the game into overtime.
Had the zebras thrown the flag, the Bucs would have been in field goal range and Atlanta wouldn’t have had time to rally for a game-tying field goal on the final play of regulation.
It happened again last night, this time Sam Darnold and the Vikings were the victims. Darnold was in the end zone when he was dragged down by the face mask for a safety in the final two minutes in a loss to the Rams, giving the Rams a 10-point lead. And the ball.
As one can imagine, social media is ablaze about it.
Joe has no idea why all penalties aren’t reviewable. It won’t extend times of games one bit. Coaches would still have three challenge flags per game.
Joe is almost convinced these blown flags are a result of so many nonsense rules the NFL has instituted in recent years; refs cannot look for everything.
Officials having to look for such nonsense penalties like hitting too hard, too much weight on the quarterback and hip drop tackles (Joe still doesn’t know what that is) keep the refs from focusing on real penalties like face masks.
Thus, the refs miss those obvious calls.
Joe is sure the NFL will discuss making face mask penalties reviewable during the spring owners meetings. Too late for the Bucs, the Vikings, Darnold and Irving.
Referee Tra Blake was questioned on why there was no facemask penalty called on the Rams, responding with "I did not have a good look at it"
Also Tra Blake: pic.twitter.com/aFbYflmBYV
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) October 25, 2024
October 25th, 2024 at 12:02 am
Pretty obvious, the bigger market gets the call, or non-call.
RIGGED!
Or just flat out incompetence, brought to you by the NFL Referees Association union, which makes it impossible to fire them for performance.
October 25th, 2024 at 12:06 am
Joe do you think it was rigged since it was in LA and they want the Rams to stay competitive
October 25th, 2024 at 12:15 am
Never crossed Joe’s mind. That’s very NBA conspiracy of you. 🙂
It’s damning that a zebra maybe six feet away was looking right at Darnold and apparently never saw it. That guy should be suspended.
The answer to all of this is allow all plays to be reviewed. Not sure why that’s so difficult. Coaches would still only be allowed three challenges a game.
October 25th, 2024 at 12:30 am
Why can’t that be reviewed?
Everything should be watched and reviewed nonstop throughout the entire game. It really would not be that difficult to do.
October 25th, 2024 at 12:35 am
“Joe has no idea why all penalties aren’t reviewable.” – Joe
Scoring plays are, and a safety is a scoring play. It should have been reviewed and called.
October 25th, 2024 at 12:42 am
Buccaneer Bonzai Says:
October 25th, 2024 at 12:35 am
“Joe has no idea why all penalties aren’t reviewable.” – Joe
Scoring plays are, and a safety is a scoring play. It should have been reviewed and called.
———–
I don’t think penalties on scoring plays are reviewable. But it probably will be next year.
Still wouldn’t have helped the Bucs, who should be 5-2 right now, and what a completely different feeling everyone would have right now, thinking at worse the team would be .500 when Evans got back.
October 25th, 2024 at 12:59 am
They are missing way too many calls. Or just flat out making wrong calls. They preach about the shield. Yet here we are. Usually when i turn off the game when the refs are a factor.. Go BUCS
October 25th, 2024 at 1:12 am
It wouldn’t have given the Bucs a first down but a replay of the down because Barton was flagged for a hold. I obviously agree even that would have helped because we were already in FG range.
It’s ridiculous that ref said he didn’t have a good view.
They SEE these things they just have an OPINION on how bad it was.
It shouldn’t matter. They should be held accountable.
When these plays get reviewed and called, it will make the refs embarrassed.
That’s called accountability.
The NFL doesn’t want anything that stops the money train from moving.
October 25th, 2024 at 1:29 am
And it would have eaten up clock. Atlanta field goal was final play of regulation.
October 25th, 2024 at 1:31 am
Certain games have been fixed since the 70 & 80’s. It’s more obvious now with the replay tech available and gambling partnerships. There will never be full transparency in the league with all that money at stake.
October 25th, 2024 at 1:33 am
Joe I’m throughly convinced after living 69 years that people simply see what they want to see and disregard the rest. It is what it is.
October 25th, 2024 at 1:35 am
Rod you pretty much nailed it. Whether it’s intentional or pure incompetence, it’s absolutely ridiculous to not already have a remedy, when the solution is so easy and obvious to everyone.
Or for more conspiracy stuff – The blown flags are a result of Vegas sportsbooks and the league becoming a symbiotic entity with one another.
What’s plainly obvious is that officiating just gets worse and worse every season, whatever the underlying “cause” is.
October 25th, 2024 at 1:36 am
@Billy – 100%
There will be no questioning of the shield in any way shape or form!
October 25th, 2024 at 3:02 am
“Joe has no idea why all penalties aren’t reviewable.”
.
.
Because that would take away much of the control that the refs have over the outcomes of games.
Most of us remember 2019, when the NFL buckled to public pressure and made pass interference calls (and non-calls) reviewable. All they did was intentionally make a mockery of it, and refuse to change the call on the field, no matter how obvious.
October 25th, 2024 at 5:02 am
Agree with Joe and others. Face masks should be reviewable. The refs know they are not reviewable too. And here we are again and again. Rod, unbelievable, and others are correct. Is it incompetence, intentional, a script, and/or gambling odds…
The NFL Executive Committee are in control of decision-making as well as other strategies and compliance. This should be brought up. Todd is on the committee now. Rich McKay is the CEO. John Lynch, McVay, Tomlin, and others are also on the committee.
October 25th, 2024 at 5:20 am
As technology has improved & become more pervasive, it seems that we’re finding that we humans are in fact … human. As audacious as it sounds, we screw up. And when technology so frequently verifies that nowadays, other humans seem perfectly willing, even anxious, to say ‘Ha, you screwed up’. And the media takes it from there.
October 25th, 2024 at 5:58 am
“Joe still doesn’t know what (a hip drop tackle) is.”
Pretty simple, rewatch Roquan Smith’s tackle injuring Chris Godwin, and tell me if this is still some cheeky rule to joke about.
October 25th, 2024 at 6:55 am
Oh god people with inferiority complexes yammering about market sizes as if that matters in the NFL when it doesnt. The Vikings are arguably a bigger brand than the Rams and and the Packers most certainly are by a mile. It’s 2024, teams and players across all sports do not need traditional media anywhere near as much anymore. The Indiana Fever are the very definition of podunk and they outdrew NBA games on NBA TV. It’s the stars. And let’s not pretend the Vikings were going to drive the length of the field AND get the 2 point conversion. They scored 6 points the entire second half
October 25th, 2024 at 7:11 am
Everything is reviewable in Fifa football by the booth replay officials. Timothy Weah got a red card ejection for decking a Panamanian player off the ball that was caught on camera in the Copa America.
October 25th, 2024 at 7:17 am
Just to stir things up, did anyone notice how the game ended? Less than 90 seconds to play, no time outs and down 10 Minnesota was kicking an onside kick.
What if they recover? Sound familiar? Wasn’t that game “over”? Do you think Justin Jefferson was going to be on the field?
October 25th, 2024 at 7:48 am
There needs to be fines on the refs idc anymore, hold them accountable
October 25th, 2024 at 7:50 am
Not unlike election fraud…clear and concise methods to fix the problems, but the powers that be don’t want them fixed.
October 25th, 2024 at 8:50 am
Hip drop, I love that one. The play where Baker got dragged down backward was classic hip drop. I think it’s a stupid unnecessary rule, but they made such a big deal about it you’d think they’d be looking for it. I guarantee we get that one called against us this year.
October 25th, 2024 at 8:52 am
“Listen Mr Ref, everyone in football makes money except YOU! You’re the only sucker working for little to no money. As an bonus, everyone hates you. But not us. We are your friends. We think we can right this terrible wrong. All you gotta do is help us out with a couple of things. Look the other way once or twice. Just once or twice….and we will pay you a couple million. You’ll be set for life. And if the league gets suspicious, and suspends you, so what? You. Are. Not. Getting. Paid!” — criminals
October 25th, 2024 at 9:06 am
FYI Joe – hip drop tackles (Joe still doesn’t know what that is) is what happened with Chris Godwin in the Ravens game when he got hurt, and of course no penalty was called.
October 25th, 2024 at 10:16 am
vikings got jobbed
October 25th, 2024 at 11:16 am
There’s YouTube shorts about this very thing, the league conspiracy theory of refs controlling outcome of games. The spoofs are quite funny (until it’s your team)and right on point with the game footage. They should make one of this showing the ref in there pulling his hand off Darnolds helmet, tripping him then backing out of the play.
October 25th, 2024 at 1:23 pm
Probably would not have made a difference. But how in the hell do you miss that call? Stevie Wonder could have spotted it.
October 25th, 2024 at 8:48 pm
I’ve always known gambling would ruin the NFL. I don’t care what anybody says to minimize it.
October 25th, 2024 at 9:38 pm
So, ref looking right at the play and misses the blatant face mask.
Nah, not rigged at all.