Watch: Lions convert on amazing two-point conversion that gets reversed

After scoring a touchdown with 23 seconds left to get within a point of the Dallas Cowboys, Lions coach Dan Campbell showed no hesitation in going for a two-point conversion and the win on the road. Probably because he had a good play.

Detroit went with a fake handoff and pass to offensive tackle Taylor Decker, who hauled in Jared Goff’s pass for what looked like the go-ahead conversion. 

But Decker was flagged for illegal touching, as the announcers explained that the lineman hadn’t reported as eligible to the officials.

Except it appears that he did.

There’s footage of Decker talking to the officials, and footage of Goff reminding Decker to report as an eligible receiver. The play was designed to confuse the Cowboys; it did that, but also confused the officials.

After the game, Goff claimed that the referee mistakenly believed that lineman Dan Skipper reported as eligible, which he did not, rather than Decker. As a result, the Lions got a five-yard penalty instead of a two-point conversion.

It didn’t end there. Detroit still went for two from the seven-yard line, which led to an offsides penalty on Dallas’ Micah Parsons. 

So Detroit ran a third two-point play, which fell short when Goff’s pass bounced off James Mitchell’s hands.

You could — and many will — criticize Campbell for his decisions, ones that took the Lions out of the race for the top seed in the NFC. But the call appears to have been completely wrong, which opens the door to conspiracy theories.

Was the league favoring the popular Cowboys over the Lions? Did the NFL want the final-week drama of the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles fighting for the NFC East title.

It’s more likely that the referees simply read Decker as an ineligible offensive lineman and threw the flag. But on a night where the Lions almost stunned the Cowboys — still undefeated at home in 2023 — they lost because of a stunningly-bad call.