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Officials Cost Vikings a Fumble Return Touchdown By Blowing Play Dead Early

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Vikings
By Will Ragatz | Last updated 12/17/22

Things had already started off disastrously for the Vikings in Saturday's game against the Colts. They were down 23-0 in the second quarter after a comedy of errors.

Then, to add insult to injury, the referees cost them a touchdown with a bad call.

With seven minutes left in the first half, Matt Ryan hit Michael Pittman Jr. on a short pass on third down. Fighting for extra yardage, Pittman was stripped of the football by Chandon Sullivan, who scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown. The frustrated crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium went wild. Suddenly, the Vikings had a little spark.

Except, an official had ruled Pittman down before the fumble. They made the call that his forward progress had stopped, despite Sullivan stripping the ball less than two seconds after Pittman caught it. More importantly, Pittman was still trying to break a tackle and fall forwards.

The end result was a Colts punt. A penalty on the Vikings moved the ball from the 10 to the 5. Three plays later, Kirk Cousins threw a pick-six to Julian Blackmon.

So instead of 23-7, it was 30-0. Just like that.

On a day where the Vikings have played one of the worst halves of football in franchise history, would Sullivan's return touchdown have mattered in the end? Probably not. The Vikings' offense hardly looks capable of mounting any sort of comeback against this Colts defense.

Still, who knows what could've happened if the refs hadn't blown that play dead? The Vikings might've had a chance to get back into the game. Instead, the Colts' pick-six basically sealed the result.

The Vikings have theirselves to blame for the way they've played today. There's no doubt about that. But at the same time, blowing that play dead early was a mistake by the refs.

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Vikings and was syndicated with permission.

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