Lions' Dan Skipper 'Blacked Out' after 2023 Dallas Game

Dan Skipper had tough time getting past controversial call against Cowboys.

Jan 7, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper (70) catches a pass after checking in and is tackled by Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) during second half at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports / David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Skipper will never quite live down, or forget, the infamous, illegal-touching call made against the Lions in the waning seconds of their late-season clash with the Dallas Cowboys a year ago. 

To quickly recap, Detroit was trailing Dallas, 20-13, with 1:41 to play in the now fateful game, after the Cowboys’ Brandon Aubrey converted a 43-yard field goal. 

Jared Goff proceeded to lead the Lions on a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive, which was capped off by an 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown. It cut the Cowboys’ lead to one, 20-19, with 0:23 to play. 

The only question remaining, at the time, was whether Detroit head man Dan Campbell would go for the win in regulation and opt for the two-point conversion. To no surprise, the ever aggressive head coach decided to do just that.

With all of AT&T Stadium on pins and needles in anticipation of the play, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson executed a doozy of a play. Out of the singleback formation, Goff took the snap, faked the handoff to running back David Montgomery and then found offensive lineman Taylor Decker open – on the left side of the end zone – for what should've been a successful two-point conversion.

Yet, on the play, referee Brad Allen and the game's officiating crew – even after 30-plus seconds had passed after the score – determined that Decker had failed to report as an eligible receiver. Subsequently, they penalized the left tackle for illegal touching, negating the two-point conversion.

If you closely review the game film before that play occurred, though, you'll see that Decker did trot out to Allen to report as eligible. However, instead of announcing him as eligible, the officiating crew erroneously declared that Skipper was.

Detroit ended up trying twice more for the two-point conversion, failing on both attempts. It resulted in the Lions dropping the Week 17 contest, 20-19. 

It was a tough pill to swallow for Skipper, who had a tough time getting past the controversial call in its immediate aftermath. 

“I kind of blacked out after the game,” Skipper told the Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers. “Not alcoholic. Just I remember, we’ve got a great mental doctor here, Dr. (Michelle) Garvin. Talked to her before I even got on the bus, to try to just figure out a way to deregulate and that helped me to just kind of move past. And not (completely) past, but just to get through the night. So, yeah, talked to Dr. Garvin and like, I think by the time I got off the phone with her, my body, just like, it was just kind of a blur.” 

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Skipper, who re-signed with the Lions on a one-year contract this past offseason, will be entering his sixth consecutive season with the Lions in 2024. Yet, he flew largely under-the-radar with Detroit fans until the Dallas game last season. Since then, he’s become much more recognizable and a bit of a fan favorite.

“Yeah, I'd say I get recognized in public,” the reserve lineman expressed. “I haven't really been out a whole lot, I don't really do a whole lot. I'm kind of a homebody. But, back home, all my neighbors were sitting out on the back porch and were like, ‘I didn’t know you got that mad.’ So, that was kind of a shock to some of those folks. I was angry.

“But, yeah, I definitely get recognized more when I do go out. The fans are, like when I reported after, that was a wild experience, the way that blew up, that was crazy. I never had seen anything like that. The fans have your back, and you truly feel like you're part of something. I didn't know, (but) it warms you up a little bit.”