Lions-Cowboys game ends in controversy as penalty thwarts Detroit's go-ahead 2-point conversion

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The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys game was mired in controversy on Saturday after a penalty thwarted a potential game-winning 2-point conversion play.

The play would have given the Lions a 21-20 lead and likely the victory. But officials said Lions offensive lineman Tyler Decker wasn’t an eligible receiver when he caught the pass that would have put Detroit up one point with 23 seconds remaining. Two plays later, Detroit’s pass attempt was incomplete and Dallas won the game, 20-19.

Video appeared to show two Lions players talking with referee Brad Allen and Decker running over to Allen as well. But as Decker is going to report, Allen runs as if someone had already reported in. Backup tackle Dan Skipper was the one deemed to have reported in.

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Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff talks with umpire Duane Heydt after a 2-point conversion play during the Dallas Cowboys game, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

In the postgame, the explanations contradicted each other. Lions quarterback Jared Goff said he was sure Decker reported as an eligible receiver and Skipper had not. Allen said Skipper reported to him as an eligible receiver but then went to the tackle spot, which meant he didn’t have to report at all. Decker was already in the game.

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"That conversation is where (Skipper) reports to me, and I then go to the defensive team, and I say to them ‘(Skipper) has reported as an eligible receiver,’ so they will be aware of who has reported and then I return to my position," Allen said in the pool report. "That was the