“You can’t feel sorry for yourself. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting, it doesn’t feel bad,” Campbell said. “But we have no one to blame but ourselves. It’s on us. And it’s also ours to finish. We’ve got two left.”
Prospective Amon-Ra St. Brown’s score with 22 seconds left was erased by an offensive interference call by freshman Isaac TeSlaa. Four plays later, chaos ensued.
On the game’s final play, fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line, Jared Goff hit St. Brown just before the goal line. The Viking tipped the ball back to the QB, who took it into the end zone. After a long meeting of the judges, it was decided that because St. Brown was called for OPI, the game was over.
Referee Carl Cheffers, speaking to a pool reporter after the game, called it a “pretty complicated play” because they had to decide whether Goff’s spin was a touchdown or not. In the end, OPI wiped it all out.
“We ruled it was a return pass, so the rebounder was able to extend it and the rebounder passed it forward for a touchdown. We had to rule on that and then because of the offensive pass interference, it negates the touchdown. Because it’s an offensive foul, we don’t extend the half. So there’s no score and there’s no replay on the way down,” the rule says.
For reference, NFL Rule 4, Section 8, Article 2(b), reads in part: “If there is a foul on the offense, the period shall not be extended. If the foul occurs on the last play of the half, the score after the offense shall not count.”
St. Brown did not contest the call that put the Lions’ playoff hopes on life support.
“It is what it is, these are the rules, you can’t change them. But it never comes down to one play, just because of that one play,” he said. “We got calls through that last drive as well, so it goes both ways.”
The loss was the Lions’ first since Week 3-8, 2022. It was a disastrous time for Campbell’s club. Next Generation Stats give the Lions just an 8% chance of making the playoffs. Detroit needs to win its last two games – at Minnesota and Chicago – while the Green Bay Packers need to lose their last two games – against Baltimore and Minnesota – for the Lions to make the playoffs.