WATCH: Referee Clearly Announces Lions OL As Eligible Receiver Before 2-Point Conversaion

Did NFL referees screw the Detroit Lions against the Dallas Cowboys?

Or did the Lions make a fatal mistake.

According to referee Brad Allen, it was the Lions who wrongly identified which of offensive linemen Dan Skipper and Taylor Decker was meant to report as eligible.

“So, we had a situation where if you were going to have an ineligible number occupy an eligible position, you have to report that to the referee,” Allen said of the incident. “On this particular play, number 70 (Skipper), who had reported during the game a couple of times, reported to me as eligible. Then he lined up at the tackle position. So, actually, he didn’t have to report at all. Number 68 (Decker), who ended up going downfield and touching the pass, did not report. Therefore, he is an ineligible touching a pass that goes beyond the line, which makes it a foul. So, the issue is, number 70 did report, number 68 did not.”

Asked to clarify a video showing him talking to Decker and Skipper, Allen said the following:

“That conversation is where number 70 reports to me. And I then go to the defensive team, and I say to them ‘number 70 has reported as an eligible receiver,’ so they will be aware of who has reported and then I return to my position. That was the conversation with the defensive line.”

Decker and Skipper deny this. Decker says he reported. While Skipper claims he says nothing.

But at least one thing Allen claims has been confirmed by video.

The ESPN Spanish language feed of the game clearly picks up Allen saying “number 70 is an eligible receiver. Number 70 is eligible” over his microphone to the crowd in the stadium.

Did Decker actually report rather than Skipper? Maybe.

But if he did, nobody seemed to correct Allen when he stated otherwise.