in case you missed it, the Cowboys beat the Lions 20-19 in controversial fashion. That’s putting it lightly, too. The Lions scored a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the game and opted to go for two, trying to win in regulation rather than play for overtime. They ran a trick play on the initial try, successfully throwing to left tackle Taylor Decker in the endzone, but the play was erased after Decker was flagged for illegal touching. The Lions’ second two-point attempt was unsuccessful, but a Cowboys penalty gave them a third shot, which also failed.
However, the Lions insist that they properly informed the officials that Decker was to be reported as eligible, which would have made the play legal. That’s where the controversy comes from, so let’s break down what should have happened and what actually happened.
By rule, offenses are only allowed to have five eligible players on any given play, which means only those players are allowed to run routes, be the first player to touch the ball, or move more than a yard downfield on passing plays. That final part is what leads to the ineligible man downfield penalty that has risen in frequency as RPO’s become more common in the league.
When an offense substitutes a player that is not normally an eligible player – this is almost always a sixth offensive lineman coming on the field – they are required to go to the head referee and declare themselves as eligible. No other player can report for them, as the Cowboys learned earlier this season.
Once the player has gone to the head referee and reported as eligible, the head referee goes up to the defense and informs them of the eligibility report. Then, the head referee uses their microphone to announce to the entire stadium who has reported as eligible. It is at this point that the process is complete and the offense can proceed, with the eligible player allowed to touch the ball.
