The good news, we suppose, is that this ridiculously bad call against offensive tackle Taylor Decker and the Detroit Lions didn’t cost Dan Campbell’s team a game.
With 1:06 left in the first half of the Lions’ wild-card game against the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit had fourth-and-5 at the Rams’ 41-yard line up 21-17. The Lions were prepared to go for it, as Campbell is wont to do, but before that could happen, referee Craig Wrolstad called a false start on offensive tackle Taylor Decker. That gave the Lions fourth-and-9 at the Rams’ 45-yard line, and the decision was then to punt.
The problem was that Decker’s “false start” happened after multiple Rams defenders broke the line. There was no penalty on any of THEM. The Rams were unable to score before the clock ran out on the first half, but this was still an inexcusable gaffe.
Here's the full sequence. Dan Campbell was fired up. Lions fans chanting: “Refs you suck!”pic.twitter.com/Hr81fyqslv https://t.co/7i9vhACEwn
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 15, 2024
The Lions fans were absolutely correct with that particular chant, and given what referee Brad Allen did to their team a few weeks back, you can understand the frustration.
Referee Brad Allen may have cost the Detroit Lions a win against the Dallas Cowboys
It says a great deal about the state of modern NFL officiating that Wrolstad and his “hand-picked” crew were graded and chosen to be playoff-worthy.