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Another game and another blown call by the referees in a contest involving the Detroit Lions. During a late second-quarter drive in Detroit’s Wild Card matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions faced a fourth-and-five from the LA 41-yard line. Detroit Quarterback Jared Goff tried to get the Rams to jump offsides and seemed to succeed when a Los Angeles defender jumped into the neutral zone. The left side of the Detroit offensive line, including tackle Taylor Decker, reacted, getting the flag from the sideline official.
However, after a short deliberation, the white hat hit Decker with a false start penalty. The Lions punted, forfeiting any opportunity to score points and extend a four-point lead. NBC’s rules analyst spoke about the play, saying the officials made a mistake calling a penalty on Detroit, not Los Angeles. Lions fans took to Twitter (also known as X) to voice their frustrations with the officiating crew.
Detroit Lions Fans: Blown Away with Another Bad Call
Detroit and NFL fans are at wit’s end when it comes to getting screwed over by NFL officials. They were vocal about Sunday’s backbreaking false start penalty via Twitter.
how is this a false start??? pic.twitter.com/Z3qsDPUswd
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 15, 2024
#Lions in another officiating controversy: Everyone in the stadium realizes this should be a neutral-zone penalty. #Lions get called for a false start instead.
And it's again with Taylor Decker.
Not great. pic.twitter.com/Xuz0dhEKF3
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 15, 2024
"It sure looks to me, Cris, that the defense jumped before the offense moved. It should have been a neutral zone infraction."
Terry McAulay disagrees with the controversial false start call, that cost the Lions a first down. pic.twitter.com/lAxHLZqWLn
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 15, 2024
False start called on Taylor Decker, makes 4th & 5 a 4th & 10 and forces DET to punt (up 21-17 with 1:06 left in the half). Versus. Neutral zone infraction on Ernest Jones, automatic 1st down on LAR's 36-yard-line.
One of those plays you bookmark entering the final 30 minutes. pic.twitter.com/fo3249zlJY
— Zachary Swiecicki (@zachswies) January 15, 2024
Eminem in the studio making a diss track on the refs for that false start call #DetroitLions pic.twitter.com/deUYVLeO3z
— Kyle Andrew Kerr (@sirandrewkerr) January 15, 2024
False Start???? Refs dictating the outcome of a significant Lions game ? Oh no… #NFL pic.twitter.com/dbD2VGdkiT
— Andrew Cleary (@acleary15) January 15, 2024
the Lions got called for a false start here. on 4th-and-5. and then the "refs you suck" chants began pic.twitter.com/345f7zmzDV
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 15, 2024
Still trying to see the false start here https://t.co/cJWdguUYWb pic.twitter.com/ebxmPyDnii
— Eli Morgan (@Eli_Morgan1112) January 15, 2024
Detroit Lions T Taylor Decker: Called for Game-Losing Penalty in Week 17
Decker, the recipient of Sunday’s brutal false start call, was at the center of controversy in late December. The Detroit Lions went for the potential game-winning two-point conversion with under a minute remaining, with Jared Goff finding Taylor Decker in the endzone out of an unbalanced formation. However, the play got negated by Decker not reporting to the official, a necessity for an offensive lineman when eligible as a receiver. Further review showed that the Ohio State product did, in fact, report eligible, and the play should have stood. The Lions lost 20-19.
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