'We couldn't see it': Refs claim view of egregious facemask was blocked

The Vikings never got a chance to score a tying touchdown late after the missed call.

Multiple views of the uncalled facemask on Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold during their game against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. / Broadcast screenshot

In one of the biggest moments of the game, the officials missed a blatant facemask on Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, ultimately resulting in a Vikings' 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams Thursday night in Inglewood, Calif.

Trailing 28-20, the Vikings had one last chance to send the game into overtime. Darnold held on to the ball for too long and got sacked by Byron Young, but Young clearly grabbed Darnold's facemask as he took him down. No flags flew on the field, and the play resulted in two points and the ball for the Rams, who kneeled it out the rest of the way to victory.

In the pool report after the game, referee Tra Blake said none of the officials had a view of the facemask.

"The quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it," Blake said. "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 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 play is not reviewable, Blake said.

"On the field we definitely did discuss it because they did bring up a concern. We discussed it as a crew, but we weren't able to see it on the field so we weren't able to make that call," he said.

Referee Tra Blake said no official had a good look at the face mask on the key sack/safety of Sam Darnold. Pool report: pic.twitter.com/wapBEEZ24V

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) October 25, 2024