The Saturday night showdown between the NFC North champion Detroit Lions and the playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys concluded as one of the NFL’s most thrilling games thanks to a quirky series of events surrounding the Lions’ attempt at a game-winning two-point conversion. 

The Cowboys exited the contest as 20-19 victors after stopping Detroit’s third two-point conversion attempt after penalties for both teams caused multiple re-tries. Detroit was penalized for an ineligible player downfield and illegal touching after referee Brad Allen announced offensive tackle Dan Skipper as eligible instead of the Lions’ preferred offensive lineman, Taylor Decker, who caught what initially appeared to be the game-winning two-point conversion toss. 

“I can’t believe the convoluted way that we ended up winning that game,” Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But let me put it like this: The defensive team is supposed to know who the eligible receivers are. Anything you do to fuzzy that up can get fuzzy for you.”  

Trailing 20-13 with 1:41 to go and without a timeout, the Lions offense marched 75 yards in nine plays across 1 minute and 18 seconds, with a scoring strike from quarterback Jared Goff to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for 11 yards.

Then, madness ensued. Detroit went for two and the win, and they appeared to have it after Goff completed a pass to offensive tackle Taylor Decker, No. 68. However, Detroit reported tackle Dan Skipper, No. 70, as eligible prior to the play, according to referee Brad Allen, as multiple offensive linemen came up to Allen. Therefore, the Lions were called for an illegal touching penalty. However, Skipper said postgame that he did not say a word to the official before the snap. Replay of Detroit coming on to the field before the first two-point conversion attempt shows Decker talking to Allen, appearing to report as eligible.

After the game in the pool report, Allen maintained that Decker never reported. Following the penalty, the Cowboys were in turn called for an infraction, with Micah Parsons being called for being offsides on the second try, a play in which Dallas intercepted Goff. Finally, the sequence concluded with Dallas forcing an incomplete pass to hang on for the win.

“I haven’t been a part of one like that,” Jones said postgame Saturday night. “I can only die three times. I don’t know if I can die four, but a great game. Hats off to Detroit. They fight you all the way as they did tonight, but I love the way our guys followed through, finished as Coach [McCarthy] says. Was really proud of our guys, and they made it tough on us right out until the last play, obviously.”