Rams-Vikings referee addresses controversial missed face mask penalty on Sam Darnold

The Los Angeles Rams (3-4) picked up a 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings (5-2) in Week 8 on Thursday, although a controversial no-call in the fourth quarter played a role in the outcome.

With 1:36 remaining in the game, Los Angeles clinging to a 28-20 lead, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold took a sack in his own end zone, resulting in a safety and a change in possession. On replay, however, it was clear that Rams defensive end Byron Young had a handful of Darnold’s face mask as he brought him to the ground. There was no penalty on the play.

Byron Young has a fine incoming for the blatant facemask officials missed.

Small price to pay for a game-sealing play that changes a lot of things for the #Rams.

pic.twitter.com/bAbSRBrfuL

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 25, 2024

Referee Tra Blake told Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News that he “did not have a good look” at the play, preventing him from making the call.

“On that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it,” Blake said. “I did not have a look, and I did not see the face mask being pulled, obviously. The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a 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.”

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell reacts to missed face mask call vs. Rams

Blake clarified that the play was not reviewable in accordance with the NFL‘s rules. He explained that the officiating crew discussed the call on the field after missing it.

“On the field, we definitely did discuss it because they did bring up a concern,” Blake said. “We discussed it as a crew, but we weren’t able to see it on the field, so we weren’t able to make the call.”

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said it looked like a face mask penalty to him, though he did not use the missed call as an excuse for why they lost the game.

“It looked like he got a pretty good amount of face mask there,” O’Connell said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “I’m not going to get into the call, or no-call, or all that stuff. I talked to our team, officiating and all that stuff … for us to talk about that, for us to seek comfort in that, is not how we’re going to respond to this.

“It’s just not going to happen. I’m going to do the same thing right now. I really don’t have a comment on that. Looked like he got a piece of the face mask, but they didn’t think so, so they didn’t throw the flag.”