In a dramatic finale to Thursday night’s clash between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings, linebacker Byron Young delivered a game-ending safety on quarterback Sam Darnold. As Young brought down Darnold, the replay clearly showed that he had yanked the quarterback’s facemask on the play. Despite this blatant infraction, no penalty was called on the field.
The non-call proved to be crucial as the foul was not reviewable. This allowed the Rams to secure a fair catch on an onside post-safety punt, effectively sealing their victory. PFWA pool reporter Calvin Watkins caught up with referee Tra Blake after the game to discuss the controversial play.
Blake admitted that he did not see the facemask penalty due to the positioning of the players on the field. “Well, on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it,” Blake explained. “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.”
When asked if the officiating crew discussed the play during the game, Blake confirmed that they did address the issue raised by the Vikings. “On the field, we definitely did discuss it because they [the Vikings] did bring up a concern,” Blake said. “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.”
Furthermore, Blake emphasized that the play in question was not subject to review. This meant that the controversial facemask penalty could not be overturned even after the fact. The Rams ultimately emerged victorious in a game marred by a missed call that had significant implications for the outcome.
