“Refs Didn’t See It the Same Way”: Tom Brady Gets Real on Brad Allen and Co’s Terrible Officiating in the NFL

The NFL officiating fiasco continues to build up. Even at the end of the regular season, the Lions vs Cowboys game was marred by controversial refereeing calls that directly affected the outcome and the playoff scenario. Being in such situations a couple of times himself, NFL legend Tom Brady had his say on the topic.

Brady talked about the decision not going in favor and the aftermath of it. However, he shared one aspect that could help the Lions prepare for their next game despite encountering an unexpected result. But in reality, the situation leads to bigger effects than it seems.

Tom Brady talks about the disastrous decisions in the Lions’ game

Talking to the Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald, and Jim Gray podcast, the GOAT was asked about the incident. Being the champion he is, Brady only looked to the positive side of it. “A lot of things don’t go your way, a lot of things do go your way,” the former QB shared the inevitable truth. Then he continued with what would be the best for the affected side, the Lions at that moment.

“And if I was in that locker room, hopefully that would bring us together to say: Alright guys we know we got a tough break, didn’t go the way we wanted. Or, what we saw, we did, the referees didn’t see it the same way,” Brady insisted he would have taken the lead role in a similar locker room trying to cool the situation. But for what purpose?

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“And, what are we gotta do about it? Are we gonna sulk and bitch and complain, or, are we gonna deal with the reality of the situation and move forward, and try to play our best football,” Brady revealed for future purposes, as playoff lies only a week away. Complaining will only distract the team from their ultimate goal, which awaits at the end of the postseason.

Brady’s words bring value to the Lions, who recently won their maiden NFC North title. But why is the incident being so talked about? And what effects does it bring to the rest of the league?

What happened at the Lions vs Cowboys game?

According to the NFL rules, only five eligible players can be for an offense during any play. Only these players are allowed to touch the ball or advance it. To count any ineligible player as eligible, the concerned team needs to raise it to the referee, who informs the opposition team about the change. Then they consider the following player as well, and the head referee announces the decision to the whole stadium via a microphone.

However, head referee Brad Allen confused the situation at the end of the Lions vs Cowboys game. As the Lions scored a touchdown with 23 seconds remaining on the clock, they immediately substituted in lineman Dan Skipper for a 2-point conversion. However, with Skipper’s arrival, Allen announced that the lineman would be eligible for the play and not tackle Taylor Decker, as originally intended. But in reality, that’s not what the Lions had planned, and to make things confusing they didn’t clear the issue either following the announcement.

As planned, the play began, and the Lions passed the ball to Decker, who was counted as ineligible. Therefore, the play was termed illegal, and the team was penalized. The scoreline stood 19-20 in favor of the Cowboys at that point, so the call eventually cost the Lions the game. Additionally, with the loss, the away team added their 5th of the season, which stopped them from matching the NFC leader 49ers (12-4). And the playoff fixtures are expected to be affected by the mishap as well.

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Can the Lions forget everything that happened and follow Brady’s words? Standing at the moment, it seems to be the only logical option for the team.