The Detroit Lions suffered a season-ending loss to their division rival Minnesota Vikings this afternoon, falling by a 37-35 final.
And you can excuse both the players and fans alike who felt they were battling more than just the Vikings on the field.
Two egregious, mind-numbingly terrible calls had direct outcomes on the final score, preventing Detroit from salvaging what was left of their season. Not only was Tracy Walker called for a phantom roughing the passer penalty that soon resulted in points on the board for the Vikings, but Marvin Jones Jr. had a clear touchdown reception taken away from him soon afterwards.
Both Taylor Decker and Adrian Peterson were seen giving an earful to the officiating crew on the field:
Taylor Decker made sure to voice his opinion about the officiating after the game, as well. pic.twitter.com/2xEkwbrIuw
— Mike Mulholland (@mulho2mj) January 3, 2021
To say @AdrianPeterson was not pleased with the roughing the passer call is an understatement.https://t.co/vHchjg53mk pic.twitter.com/xqVlzaFHmp
— Mike Mulholland (@mulho2mj) January 3, 2021
Following the game, Decker made his thoughts clear:
— Taylor Decker (@__taylordecker) January 3, 2021
Peterson took a step farther, saying that the call was one of the worst that he’s ever seen.
“Just (a) terrible call. It’s probably one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen,” Peterson said. “You think about the game of football. It’s a physical game. It’s such a critical situation, fourth-and-1, that was a game-changer-type of play. I’m standing there watching the entire play, and he actually finished with his hands down and running. To say that he put all his body weight on the quarterback – it was just – it was just one of those calls you just can’t make, especially when you see your quarterback take a helmet-to-helmet hit earlier in the game. It’s like the eyes were closed on that play. It’s frustrating.”
It wasn’t long before Kenny Golladay and John Penisini reacted on social media:
— Kerryon Johnson (@CoachKerryon) January 3, 2021
Lol bullshiiiiiiit https://t.co/pVAAuceSw7
— John Penisini (@Dub_jayy_boy) January 3, 2021
We’re right there with them!
– – Quotes via Benjamin Raven of MLive Link – –
