An apparent face mask on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold went unpenalized late in the fourth quarter, and fans are demanding answers from the refs calling the contest on Thursday Night Football.
The Vikings had the ball trailing by eight points with just under two minutes remaining from their own 5-yard line as they tried to mount a last gasp to go down the field and possibly score and tie with a subsequent two-point conversion.
They would ultimately be screwed.
Rams linebacker Byron Young sacked quarterback Sam Darnold in the endzone for a safety.
However, the refs missed a blatant facemask on the play, which would have given the Vikings life with a 15-yard penalty in the late stages of the Thursday Night Football game.
The refs missed an OBVIOUS facemask penalty when Sam Darnold got taken down. Absolutely terrible.
pic.twitter.com/rWfb8tOov6— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) October 25, 2024
In a statement to a pool reporter, head ref Tra Blake made it abundantly clear that no official on the field had a good look to see if there was a facemask penalty that should’ve been called.
“Well, on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it. I did not have a good look, and I did not see the facemask being pulled, obviously. The umpire had players between him and the quarterback so he did not get a look at it, he was blocked out as well. So that was the thing: we did not see it, so we couldn’t call it. We couldn’t see it.”
Referee Tra Blake said no official had a good look at the face mask on the key sack/safety of Sam Darnold. Pool report: pic.twitter.com/wapBEEZ24V
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) October 25, 2024
This was actually a blatant lie since a replay of that game showed a ref wearing the number 3 in prime position to see Sam Darnold get his face turned in the opposite direction.
