Week 8 of the NFL season is starting with a controversy. A non-call at the end of “Thursday Night Football” resulted in the Vikings picking up their second consecutive loss after a 5-0 start to the season.
With under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Vikings trailed the Rams, 28-20. After a great punt from L.A., Minnesota was pinned on its 5-yard line and needed to drive 95 yards in 106 seconds for an opportunity to tie the game
After a declined Minnesota penalty on first down, Vikings QB Sam Darnold was sacked in the end zone, resulting in a safety and effectively ending any opportunity to tie the game. There appeared to be illegal contact on the sack, but no flag was thrown, drawing the ire of every member of the Minnesota contingent.
Here’s more on the controversial non-call that ended Minnesota’s comeback bid and secured a 30-20 victory for the Rams.
Rams-Vikings ‘facemask,’ explained
On second down, Darnold dropped back in the end zone but was brought down by Rams LB Byron Young. Upon closer look, however, Darnold’s head jerks as Young grabs him by the facemask to make the tackle.
Despite the clear illegal contact, no flag was thrown for a facemask. If a flag were thrown, it would have resulted in a 15-yard penalty and a first down, giving Minnesota’s offense some breathing room as it attempted its two-minute drill.
The NFL rulebook’s stance on facemask penalties is clear, as it states “No player shall grasp and control, twist, turn, push, or pull the facemask of an opponent in any direction.”
Instead of a facemask, the sack stood, resulting in a safety. The Rams took a 30-20 lead and securely caught the Vikings’ onside kick attempt on the ensuing free kick, effectively ending the game.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell remained frustrated but kept his cool when asked about the non-call postgame.
“It looked like he got a pretty good amount of facemask there,” O’Connell said. “Not gonna get into the call or no-call and all that stuff.”
He continued, saying “I told our team, officiating and all that stuff — for us to talk about that, for us to seek comfort in that, is not how we’re gonna respond to this, it’s just not gonna happen. And I’m gonna do the same thing right now. I really don’t have a comment — it looks like he got a piece of the facemask but [the officials] didn’t think so.”
In a postgame pool report, referee Tra Blake offered the following explanation on the non-call:
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 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.
On the field we definitely did discuss it because they did bring up a concern. We discussed it as a crew, but we weren’t able to see it on the field so we weren’t able to make that call.
Why non-call on Sam Darnold safety is not a reviewable play
Fouls like facemasks are not reviewable, per official NFL rules. It was not called in the moment, and Minnesota could not enact a review for the officiating crew to throw a flag retroactively.
