NFL referee Brad Allen explains controversial ending to Dallas Cowboys-Detroit Lions game

NFL referee Brad Allen said after the Dallas Cowboys’ (11-5) 20-19 Week 17 victory over the Detroit Lions (11-5) Saturday that it was Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper — not Taylor Decker — who reported as eligible on the two-point conversion which would have given Detroit the lead with 23 seconds left in the game.

Allen, speaking with Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News, directly disputed Detroit’s side of the story, in which head coach Dan Campbell, Skipper and Decker, who hauled in the pass from quarterback Jared Goff, said that it was he [Decker] who reported eligible before the play — not Skipper.

“So, we had a situation where if you were going to have an ineligible number occupy an eligible position, you have to report that to the referee,” Allen said. “On this particular play, number 70, who had reported during the game a couple of times, reported to me as eligible. Then he lined up at the tackle position. So, actually, he didn’t have to report at all. Number 68, who ended up going downfield and touching the pass, did not report. Therefore, he is an ineligible touching a pass that goes beyond the line, which makes it a foul. So, the issue is, number 70 did report; number 68 did not.”

Brad Allen, Lions stories don’t add up

Just before the play, an overhead camera showed that Decker walked over to the official to report as eligible as he had been instructed to do so by Campbell. Allen claims it was Skipper whom he had the conversation with, though on video, Skipper is running onto the field as Allen wraps up his brief conversation with Decker.

Taylor Decker is literally on film reporting himself eligible to your official @nfl @NFLOfficiating this is absolutely inexcusable what are you going to do to about this? This man must be fired or investigated immediately. pic.twitter.com/kb64iIaedu

— Eazy (@SpeakEZsports_) December 31, 2023

“That conversation is where number 70 reports to me, and I then go to the defensive team, and I say to them ‘Number 70 has reported as an eligible receiver,’ so they will be aware of who has reported, and then I return to my position,” Allen said. “That was the conversation with the defensive line.”

The controversial call resulted in a Lions loss and left the entire team confused, especially Campbell, who said he explained the play to the officials before the game to avoid confusion.

“Don’t want to talk about it,” Campbell said after the game. “I explained everything pregame to a tee, OK? I did that.”

The call impacted playoff seeding in the NFC in a major way as with a win, Detroit would have been within one win of at least the No. 2 seed and still in play for the No. 1 seed.