Controversial late missed penalty call overshadows LA Rams’ impressive victory over the Minnesota Vikings

A controversial late missed penalty call overshadowed the Los Angeles Rams’ impressive 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football.

A controversial late missed penalty call overshadowed the Los Angeles Rams’ impressive 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football. With just over 90 seconds remaining in LA’s SoFi Stadium and the Rams leading by eight, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold looked to pass from his own endzone as he attempted to start a comeback drive. Darnold was tackled in his own endzone by Rams linebacker Byron Young for a sack and a safety to make it a 10-point game, but TV replays showed Young had grabbed Darnold’s face mask and twisted his head in an awkward manner. The Vikings squad and sideline were incensed by what they thought was a missed face mask penalty call which would have allowed Minnesota to continue its drive, with receiver Justin Jefferson slamming his helmet to the floor in frustration. The Rams would go on to win by that 10-point margin. After the game, lead official Tra Blake said the incident went unpenalized because none of his officiating crew had a clear look at it. “The quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it,” Blake told a pool reporter after the game, per ESPN. “I did not have a look, and I did not see the face mask being pulled, obviously.”