Get in there, Sexy Rexy! By that I mean please return to coaching in the NFL because you are missed. Eh, I guess this is the next-best thing in the meantime.
The Brad Allen-led band of idiot referees cost the Detroit Lions a victoryin Dallas on Saturday night. They’re either so stupid that they counted the wrong eligible tackle reporting, or they’re asserting that Jared Goff, Dan Campbell, and Taylor Decker himself are all lying about what happened.
So Brad Allen went with “Calling the Lions liars”—saying that Dan Skipper reported as eligible (he couldn’t have been eligible, based on alignment) and that Taylor Decker didn’t.
This is gonna get real interesting. https://t.co/KtAbxMo3pF
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 31, 2023
The official was on auto pilot.
It’s very clear Decker was attempting to report but the official assumed it was 70 because he’d reported earlier in the game. https://t.co/fZKx92RTHj— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 31, 2023
#Lions Taylor Decker: “I did what I was told to do.” pic.twitter.com/nAniCMAZIh
— Nolan Bianchi (@nolanbianchi) December 31, 2023
Rex Ryan has never been shy about speaking his mind. My favorite from this season was when he got to have the catharsis of articulating just how much Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots suck. Think about being in Rex’s shoes — we know he likes feet — and trying to compete in the AFC East against Belichick and Tom Brady. Who was the best QB Rex ever had? Mark Sanchez? That ain’t really his fault per se.
Anyway, let’s stick to the topic at hand. After Brad Allen deflected blame for Saturday’s debacle on a would-be winning two-point conversion by the Lions, Rex was triggered and rightfully unleashed on the crew:
“The thing that bothers me the most is that we’re putting blame on the players. STOP. The players did everything right, so quit covering somebody’s butt, and tell it the way it is.
Be a man and take responsibility! It’s BS! And this thing right here, ‘Oh it’s just a game.’ Yeah, it’s a game that may very well cost them the second seed, certainly, and possibly the first seed.
“[…] I get it, the referee is a human being. He made a mistake. You’re seeing a 6-foot-9 guy…right in front of you, but you didn’t notice his jersey number. You assumed it was 70. And when you assume, you make a you-know-what out of ‘u’ and ‘me.'”
"Stop blaming the players."
Rex Ryan says the officials missed it in the Lions vs. Cowboys game. 👀 pic.twitter.com/sWTNv4omOd
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) December 31, 2023
Rex is so right. He’s a football coach. He knows how these standard procedures work. Dan Campbell went over the exact play with the refs prior to the game. That’s public knowledge. Campbell, Goff and Decker are all on record with their version of events. They’re not all lying just to save face. They got absolutely screwed, live on national television.
Another good explanation by ex-player Ryan Clark here:
let’s walk thru the play
the Lions were lined up LEGALLY & PERFECTLY
no penalty at all
except the ref made a mistake
this is great by @Realrclark25 pic.twitter.com/9GUCVUhQ4A
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) December 31, 2023
It’s just wild that Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott came out of this unscathed. If the officials did their job, and the Cowboys failed to drive for a winning field goal with 23 seconds left and zero timeouts, we’d be talking about another unfathomable collapse for America’s Team.
I hope people won’t overlook the fact that Mike McCarthy and Dak once again completely bungled their last possession in a comical way when they focus on the very real screw up by the refs later. https://t.co/wVfwuWbSny
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) December 31, 2023
How ’bout them Cowboys! Even though Dallas won the battle, the Lions might end up winning the war. Campbell and Co. are going to be so pissed off entering the playoffs about this that it just might fuel them to another level they might not have reached otherwise.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys know they didn’t deserve to win, and for such a celebrated, highly-valued (in literal dollars) franchise, all the pressure is on them to make their first NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season.
That’s the only sort-of positive spin I can put on the whole debacle. It’s among the biggest disasters I’ve ever seen from an NFL officiating crew — and that’s truly saying something.
