The Los Angeles Rams kept their playoff hopes alive in Week 8 with a 30-20 upset win over the Minnesota Vikings. The game was ultimately decided when linebacker Byron Young sacked Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold in the end zone for a safety in the closing minutes of the game, extending the Rams' lead to 10 points and ending any hopes of a Vikings comeback.
The only problem with the play was that Young sacked Darnold by clearly grabbing him by the facemask. Instead of a 15-yard penalty and a Vikings first down, it was two points for the Rams and the end of the game.
While Young was not penalized on the play, his paycheck is going to be a little bit lighter this week as the NFL fined him $7,014.19 for tackling Darnold by the facemask.
That doesn't do the Vikings any good at this point, but it is a pretty good admission by the NFL that the play should have been penalized.
The Vikings still would have had to drive the length of the field for a touchdown and get a two-point conversion just to tie the game with less than two minutes to play. The odds of them pulling all of that off were low, but they still should have had the chance to try. The missed call meant they didn't get that opportunity.
