'We couldn't see it' Brutal no-call on Vikings QB Sam Darnold raises need for changes

Not only did the Vikings get screwed by the call, it prevented them from making a comeback and getting a chance to tie the game. Head coach Kevin O'Connell was asked about it after the game and gave his honest thoughts on it.

“You know, it looked like he got a pretty good amount of facemask there. Not going to get into the call or no call and all that stuff,” O’Connell said. “It’s just — I told 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. And I’m going to do the same thing right now."

O'Connell had a great response to the no call and seems to

After the game, the head referee Tra Blake was asked about why they didn't make the call. While he did explain that it wasn't reviewable and they did have a conference, Blake also said that he didn't see it.

"Well, on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me so I did not have a good look at it. I did not have a look, and I did not see the facemask being pulled, obviously. The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a good 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."

The two referees who were in the best position to see the foul couldn't see it and that is extremely frustrating. It's also something that shouldn't happen in the slightest. These are the best professionals in the business and they need to be able to see and make the call.

One thing that can be done with replay assistance is change a call on the field like a player going out of bounds or a catch being made. What they can't do is correct a penalty call on the field.

How is there not the use of a sky judge on these kinds of plays? Not to find a hold when it's borderline but to remedy a blatantly missed call like this? It's baffling that these types of provisions aren't already in place with the amount of technology that we have in place. They need to do something about this.

Now, the referees certainly didn't lose the game for the Vikings. However, they certainly prevented them from a potential game-tying drive.