It was the call that just about every saw in real time and shouted “THAT’S A FACEMASK PENALTY!!” at their screens.
Sam Darnold was sacked in the Los Angeles Rams’ end zone by Byron Young for a safety, but refs didn’t throw a flag for a facemask. So what the heck happened?
Per Calvin Watkins, referee Tra Blake had this to say: “Well, on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me so I did not have a good look at it. … The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a look at it. He was block out as well.”
He added that the officiating crew talked about it, but it’s not reviewable. Which is ironic, as you’ll see below:
Pool report on the face mask that wasn’t called in #VikingsVsRams #rams #VikingsvsRam #vikings pic.twitter.com/RKeHYUGlgv
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) October 25, 2024
The irony in this missed call: The Rams sent proposals to the competition committee in each of the last 3 years to make penalties on facemasks to QBs, blows to the head and roughing the passer reviewable.
Shot down every time, and LA benefitted tonight. pic.twitter.com/zUlmMsWIFL
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 25, 2024
Just brutal.
