NFL referees once again became the source of fan fury on Saturday with a deeply controversial ruling.
On what looked to be a clear fumble recovery for the Minnesota Vikings that would’ve resulted in a defensive touchdown late in the fourth quarter, the refs ruled Indianapolis Colts running back Deon Jackson down by contact before the ball came out.
The call came as the Vikings were trying to complete a 33-point comeback, the largest margin ever erased in NFL history. Naturally, Vikings fans and those just annoyed by bad officiating in general were outraged by the call.
Just on an initial look, the ball looked to have slipped out of Jackson’s grasp into the hands of Vikings cornerback Chandon Sullivan. That it wasn’t ruled a fumble is pretty baffling, even for NFL referee standards.
Vikings got ROBBED out of a TD here pic.twitter.com/zlQm6qLdzx
— RunYourPool (@RunYourPool_) December 17, 2022
Well, as you can guess, folks were not happy about this one.
In Minnesota, fans pelted beer cans at the field to show their frustration with the decision.
Getting ugly: Beer cans flying onto the field in Minneapolis after another obvious missed call. @WISH_TV pic.twitter.com/uSjzxv7wUZ
— Charlie Clifford (@cliffWISH8) December 17, 2022