The Vikings’ game-winning win probably should have been ruled incomplete

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Green Bay Packers 27-25 on Sunday afternoon, fending off a furious comeback attempt by the green and gold in the fourth quarter. After the Packers rallied for a touchdown with just over two minutes left, Minnesota picked up two first downs to burn up the Packers’ three timeouts and the final 2:13.

But maybe they shouldn’t have done that.

One of the key plays on their game-winning drive was a 2nd-and-11 completion by Sam Darnold to Justin Jefferson. The 9-yard gain kept the clock running – forcing the Packers to call a timeout – and opened up a 3rd-and-2 opportunity that Minnesota took with a short pass to Cam Akers.

But upon closer inspection, it could be that Jefferson didn’t actually catch the football. Check out the zoomed-in video of the replay, courtesy of Spencer Michaelis on Twitter, which appears to show Jefferson failing to maintain possession through ground contact:

Although the ball may touch the ground during a catch, the ground cannot assist in completing the reception or displace possession. The latter seems to be the case here, and at least a repeat test should have been initiated from the stand. If the game had actually been ruled incomplete, the Vikings would have had a 3rd-and-11 with 1:49 left and the Packers could have saved themselves a timeout.

Instead, they got the two yards they needed on the next play and completed their victory. But upon closer inspection, it should have been a much tougher third-down conversion attempt.