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Officials mar another Detroit Lions game vs. Dallas: ‘They just messed up and it happens’

ARLINGTON, Texas — If the Detroit Lions never have to play another game at AT&T Stadium it will be too soon.

Nine years after the Lions lost a heartbreaking playoff game to the Dallas Cowboys after officials picked up a penalty flag for pass interference, they suffered another gut punch at the hands of officials Saturday.

Jared Goff rallied the Lions to a touchdown with 23 seconds to play only to have the go-ahead 2-point conversion nullified by an illegal touching penalty on left tackle Taylor Decker. The Lions failed on two more 2-point tries, including an interception that was nullified by an offsides penalty, and the Cowboys recovered the ensuing onside kick for a controversial 20-19 victory.

At issue on the Lions’ first 2-point play — a pass from Goff to Decker that appeared to give the Lions a one-point lead — was which offensive lineman reported as eligible.

ARLINGTON, Texas — If the Detroit Lions never have to play another game at AT&T Stadium it will be too soon.

Nine years after the Lions lost a heartbreaking playoff game to the Dallas Cowboys after officials picked up a penalty flag for pass interference, they suffered another gut punch at the hands of officials Saturday.

Jared Goff rallied the Lions to a touchdown with 23 seconds to play only to have the go-ahead 2-point conversion nullified by an illegal touching penalty on left tackle Taylor Decker. The Lions failed on two more 2-point tries, including an interception that was nullified by an offsides penalty, and the Cowboys recovered the ensuing onside kick for a controversial 20-19 victory.

At issue on the Lions’ first 2-point play — a pass from Goff to Decker that appeared to give the Lions a one-point lead — was which offensive lineman reported as eligible.

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Decker said he went to referee Brad Allen and declared himself eligible, and video of the moments before the play show Decker and Penei Sewell approaching Allen behind the line of scrimmage as swing tackle Dan Skipper ran on the field as an extra offensive lineman.

Allen announced Skipper was eligible before the play, and reiterated that account in a pool interview after the game.

“All I really want to say on it, just so I don’t get myself into trouble is, I mean, I did exactly what coach told me to do and went to the ref, said report, and yeah, I don’t know,” Decker said. “It was my understanding, too, that Dan brings up the possibility of those sorts of plays pregame so I did what I was told to do and did how we did it in practice all week. That’s probably all I’m really going to touch on with that.”