Following a contentious officiating call that ended Saturday’s Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys game, the NFL sent a message to all 32 teams on Tuesday reminding players to “clearly” report as eligible receivers.
At the end of the Week 17 game at AT&T Stadium, officials determined offensive lineman Taylor Decker, who wears No. 68, was not an eligible receiver after he caught a pass from quarterback Jared Goff. This decision erased a late two-point conversion that would have given Detroit a one-point lead and probably an impressive road victory.
After failing to establish a two-point conversation twice more, the Lions ultimately lost 20-19.
Lions offensive lineman Dan Skipper, who wears number 70, reported as an eligible receiver, not Decker, according to referee Brad Allen in the pool report that was released after the game. Following the game, Decker informed reporters that he had informed Allen that he was reporting as an eligible receiver.
The Lions were confused by the decision, and head coach Dan Campbell told reporters that he had discussed the team’s alignment for the play with officials prior to the game.
“Pregame, I covered everything in detail. Alright? That’s what I did. 70 people reported, 68 not. We tossed it to number 68. That was the justification,” a displeased Campbell stated.
Decker converts the two-point conversion against the Cowboys in the fourth quarter that was negated by a penalty.
To prevent a repeat of this situation, the league distributed a video to all clubs on Tuesday, reminding players of the significance of properly identifying themselves to officials as receivers.
In the video, NFL senior vice president Walt Anderson stated, “It is the player’s responsibility to ensure that change in status is clearly communicated to the referee by both a physical signal, with his hands up and down in front of his chest, and to report to the referee his intention to report as an eligible receiver.”
In the contentious play, Decker is seen approaching referee Allen to report as eligible. However, Skipper and Penei Sewell, two other offensive linemen, also approached Allen in an effort to mislead the Cowboys defense over Decker’s eligibility.
The video compares a play from the first quarter of the game to how Skipper, who is circled, enters the field for the two-point conversion try.
Any offensive player with the numbers 50–79 or 90–99 is allowed to line up as an eligible pass receiver, per an NFL rule; however, the player had to notify the referee right away of the change in status.
