Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams avoided complete disaster in the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings with arguably the most controversial call of the playoffs thus far.
On first down, Stafford was being brought to the ground but before he hit the turf, he flicked the ball out of his right hand. It was initially ruled a fumble, which was scooped up and brought back for a touchdown by the Vikings.
Being a turnover and scoring play, it was quickly reviewed by the officials and overturned. They ruled it an incomplete pass and no penalty for intentional grounding, making it second-and-10.
This was ruled an incomplete pass as Matthew Stafford flicked the ball forward toward Puka Nacua.#MINvsLAR | ABC, ESPN, ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/ekLrgDMlPr
— ESPN (@espn) January 14, 2025
Fans are torn on whether it was the right call. Some believe it was clearly an incomplete pass, while others say it was obviously a fumble.
It’s hard to say and both sides have a case for being right because it’s truly that close.
Not even that close. Was incomplete pass. Rams offense stayed on the field — they knew it.
— Colin Cowherd (@colincowherd) January 14, 2025
Every QB getting sacked should just flick the ball forward to get out of it
— Thor Nystrom (@thorku) January 14, 2025
It’s the right call. Puka was waaaayyyyy closer than a lot of other non-groundings.
— Ryan Burns (@FtblSickness) January 14, 2025
that is one savvy move by Stafford who knew exactly what he was doing to avoid the sack
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 14, 2025
The rules are broken.
— Carrington Harrison (@cdotharrison) January 14, 2025
Best “pass” Stafford ever made?
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) January 14, 2025
So seriously like … how or why do quarterbacks just not do that every time then?
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) January 14, 2025
Calling that a pass sets kind of a wild precedent.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) January 14, 2025
Bill Belichick was on the Manningcast with Peyton and Eli Manning, and he was clearly not a fan of the call. He ripped it for being offensively skewed, saying there’s nothing that helps the defense in today’s NFL.
“It’s an offensive league. … There’s no rules to help the defense in the NFL. You can get away with that and call it an incomplete pass.” @OmahaProd
—Bill Belichick on Matthew Stafford’s incomplete pass. pic.twitter.com/q2zeXZNHPK
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 14, 2025
