Trailing late in Week 8’s Thursday Night Football game against the Los Angeles Rams, the Minnesota Vikings needed a big break to go their way. They appeared to get one in the form of a facemask penalty, but it was missed by all of the officials on the field.
Kirk Herbstreit, doing color commentary on Prime Video next to play-by-play man Al Michaels, did not miss it.
Trailing by eight points with 1:42 left in the game, Minnesota faced a second down from their own five-yard line. Quarterback Sam Darnold dropped back into his end zone but was sacked by Los Angeles linebacker Byron Young before he could throw it. The safety gave the Rams a 30-20 lead, sealing the game. It also should have been offset by a facemask — and a blatant one at that. Only, the officials on the field missed it.
Herbstreit did not.
“Al, I thought a facemask,” Herbstreit said. “Something happened to Darnold. Maybe he grabbed underneath and got the jersey. But something made Darnold — his head — go back.”
A replay then confirmed what Herbstreit originally said.
“Yeah, he got that facemask,” Herbstreit said. “He sure did. And they cannot review that. But he definitely got the facemask — right there. I mean, any time you see a guy’s head get spun backwards, something happened. And he got away with one right there.”
“And Viking fans are going, ‘What the hell,'” Michaels added.
A game-sealing safety on what should’ve been a facemask call against the Rams.
“They cannot review that. But he definitely got the facemask (of Sam Darnold). ” – Kirk Herbstreit
“Viking fans are going ‘What the hell?!'” – Al Michaels #NFL #TNF 🏈🦓🎙️ pic.twitter.com/DbfLrhtXHr
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 25, 2024
“There’s a lot of different things you can review,” Herbstreit said.
Penalties such as that, though, are not on the list of reviewable plays.
JJ Watt joined Herbstreit in his criticism of the missed call.
“Can’t see a facemask 3 feet in front of them, but we want refs to decide what is and isn’t a ‘hip drop’ tackle in real time,” Watt said on X, formerly Twitter.
Can’t see a facemask 3 feet in front of them, but we want refs to decide what is and isn’t a “hip drop” tackle in real time.
😂😂
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 25, 2024
Plenty of additional criticism was heaped on the officials for this missed call.
I’m not a complain about calls guy but that was pretty brutal. Young literally put his hands on his head afterwards, like OH CRAP, MY BAD. Can’t miss that call.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) October 25, 2024
Dude even grabs his head because he knows he committed a foul. https://t.co/lP5V9Fljk6
— Vincent Verhei (@VincentVerhei) October 25, 2024
This missed facemask call against the Vikings is one of the most egregious I have ever had the displeasure of witnessing. Absolutely inexcusable missed call. A win has been gifted to the Rams. There are not enough words to describe how ill I am pic.twitter.com/C0s11A7Hwk
— Kole Musgrove (@KoleMusgrove23) October 25, 2024
Everyone….not just Vikings fans…EVERY #NFL fan….. https://t.co/PmXIOuO7tX
— Ryan Sprouse (@RSprouseNews) October 25, 2024
Referee Tra Blake tried to explain the no-call after the game.
“Well on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me so I did not have a good look at it,” Blake said, per Kevin Seifert, ESPN. “I did not have a good look and I did not see the facemask being pulled, obviously. The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a good look at it. He was blocked out as well. So that was the thing, we did not see it so we couldn’t call it. We couldn’t see it.”
Referee Tra Blake said no official had a good look at the face mask on the key sack/safety of Sam Darnold. Pool report: pic.twitter.com/wapBEEZ24V
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) October 25, 2024
Not calling what you can’t see is certainly reasonable. But this wasn’t a quick grab of the facemask, where the defender lets go before turning the head of his opponent. This was about as blatant as it gets. So, while not calling what you can’t see is reasonable, wondering how in the world you couldn’t see that penalty is just as reasonable.
[Kevin Seifert on X, Photo Credit: Prime Video]
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