Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell insists his team has moved on from Saturday night’s heartbreaking loss to the Dallas Cowboys, but the same clearly cannot be said of Lions fans.
Billboards have been popping up along major highways in the Detroit area this week that express displeasure over the penalty that was called against the Lions on their crucial two-point conversion attempt. One of the rotating digital billboards simply reads “DECKER REPORTED.” The same billboard then changes to an image of the Lions’ 11-5 record crossed out and rewritten as 12-4.
By now, you have probably heard about what happened late in Detroit’s 20-19 loss to the Cowboys. The Lions scored a touchdown with 23 seconds left to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 20-19. Lions head coach Dan Campbell decided to go for two and the win, and it initially looked like the call paid off. Offensive lineman Taylor Decker caught a pass in the back of the end zone off of a play-action fake from Jared Goff.
However, the two-point conversion was negated after the officiating crew ruled that Decker did not report as eligible. The Lions tried the two-point attempt again and failed to convert, which eventually led to them losing 20-19. You can see the sequence here.
The Lions tried to intentionally deceive the Cowboys, and they confused the official in the process. The NFL has essentially blamed Campbell and company for an attempt to engage in gamesmanship that backfired. You can probably guess how Campbell feels about the league’s stance.
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