Vikings Got Screwed on Multiple Calls vs. Eagles
The referees were not wholly to blame for the Minnesota Vikings’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend, but the group also did the club no favors in two meaningful spots. Center Blake Brandel was flagged for a bizarre holding penalty, and the league decided to reverse a would-be T.J. Hockenson touchdown, two plays that drew ire from fans.
The Vikings made too many mistakes in their Week 7 loss the the Eagles, but two impactful calls on the field did not help their cause one bit.
In any event, it’s back to the drawing board for Minnesota, taking on the Los Angeles Chargers on the road this Thursday night.
Vikings on Short End of Stick against Eagles — Twice
Two big moments fell by the wayside.
Blake Brandel … Holding?
A Jalen Nailor touchdown reception on 4th & 1 and against Philadelphia — that could’ve mightily changed the game’s outcome — turned foul when Brandel was called for holding.
Here’s the play:
Kevin O’Connell said about the faux hold, “Seemed like a pretty routine play. Normal technique that you see around the league. It’s called a trap. Knock a guy’s hands down. Gotta go back and watch it, didn’t see it real time. But I think the officials were — there was some discussion amongst them and they made the call. They’re gonna make those calls. Can’t give them the opportunity to throw those penalties.”
And O’Connell is correct. Re-watch the clip as many times as needed. There is no holding.
SI.com’s Will Ragatz on the call, “With the Vikings trailing 14-3, Carson Wentz found Jalen Nailor for a touchdown from 6 yards out on a 4th and 1 play. But the play didn’t count because refs had thrown a flag for holding on Vikings center Blake Brandel. That meant Minnesota had to settle for a field goal, which would become a theme of the day.”
“Upon review, Brandel seemed to use a legal snatch-and-trap technique to bring down Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo, who was leaning forward. By the letter of the law, using that technique to leverage a defensive lineman’s momentum against them should not result in a penalty.”
T.J. Hockenson’s TD — but Nope
This catch by Hockenson would have changed everything.
The referees ruled it a touchdown on the field, but after New York review, the outsiders called it an incompletion.
One week ago, this was called a catch by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce:
Hockenson said after the game about the reversal: “There was nothing to overturn it, I mean, I was out there. I felt it, hands under the ball, snag it and I don’t understand. I don’t basically understand the catch rule at this point … I don’t understand how New York can call in and just be like, ‘Yeah, that’s not a catch,’ when there was no evidence that it wasn’t. I mean I had it. I think it’s ridiculous.”
The NFL’s Vice President of Instant Replay attempted to clarify, “The ruling on the field was a touchdown, so it’s replay’s jurisdiction to stop the game. We used broadcast-enhanced shots to show that as he was going to the ground — he needs control of the ball throughout the process of the catch — he lost control of the ball. The ball hit the ground. Then, he regained control of the ball. So therefore, we overturned it to an incomplete pass.”
There are two problems with the Hockenson situation:
1) If Hockenson wore a Chiefs uniform, his reception would a touchdown. See the two plays above.
2) The referees called the catch a touchdown on the field. If there is doubt, the call is supposed to stand as-is. But nope — the replay center overruled the field judgment.
Then, the Eagles got away with this reception — that stayed a catch after a challenge — that also had the ground element.
Even Skip Bayless — of all people — tweeted Sunday, “That was a TD catch by Hockenson. He kept control of the ball after it came loose.”
The Other Side of the Argument
Former NFL referee Terry McAulay claimed the replay booth got it right.
“As we start another weekend of football here’s a mini-refresher (and a not so mini rant) on the rule when a player is going to the ground to catch a pass. The rule: 1. The player must control the ball prior to the ball touching the ground. 2. The player must maintain control during and after the ball touching the ground (NFL) or throughout the process of contacting the ground (college),” McAulay explained the rule on X.
“Rant: There is no language in either rulebook that mentions ‘the ground cannot help secure the catch.’ I don’t know when that terminology came into vogue or who invented it, but it doesn’t appear in the book and since there is no definition of what that means it simply confuses fans. Anyone using that phrasing in evaluating whether a player catches a pass or not is not doing that evaluation based on the rules. Hockenson play was incomplete per #2. Not particularly close.”
The Vikings are an early 2.5-point underdog at the Los Angeles Chargers this week. Perhaps the calls with stabilize.
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