Terry McAulay criticizes officials for missed Jared Goff intentional grounding

In a game with massive playoff implications, a close call involving quarterback Jared Goff could have resulted in a safety forced by the Minnesota Vikings defense. Instead, officials opted not to call intentional grounding on the Detroit Lions in the end zone.

Jared Goff dropped to pass and saw immediate pressure from the Vikings. Outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel got pressure and was crawling toward Goff’s feet in the pocket, right as fellow linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. hit Goff in the midsection.

The play in question occurred in the middle of the second quarter, with the Lions protecting a 7-0 lead.

Goff’s throw went only a few feet forward, hitting a lineman in the process. There did not appear to be a receiver in the area, with the closest target tight end Brock Wright, about 45 degrees to the right of the throw.

You can check it out below.

Yeah, that's intentional grounding pic.twitter.com/ujuwq1BHD3

— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) January 6, 2025

Sunday Night Football rules expert Terry McAulay certainly thought the play should have been ruled intentional grounding on Jared Goff.

“He needs to throw it in the direction and vicinity of the receiver,” McAulay said. “He doesn’t throw it in the direction of 89 at all. He’s throwing it away from 89. I really believe this should have been a foul for intentional grounding.”

No matter, fortune favored the Vikings after their mishap on the call.

Just a few plays later, Minnesota got pressure on Jared Goff again and forced him to make a quick dump-off attempt to the running back. But Pace got a hand on it and tipped it to himself for the interception, giving the Vikings the ball on the doorstep of the red zone.

The team would convert with a field goal moments later, cutting the first-half deficit to 7-3 at the time of this writing.