Vikings fans furious with referees after blatant missed face mask call

A blatant missed face mask call in the end zone made Minnesota Vikings fans furious with the referees who officiated Thursday night's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, as the correct call could have helped their comeback efforts. With less than two minutes left in the game and the Vikings down 8, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold dropped back to pass and was sacked by Byron Young for the safety. There was just one problem. Darnold was taken to the turf by a his face mask, a move usually coinciding with a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down. The non-reviewable foul was not called during the game and gave the Rams a 10-point lead which was too much to overcome, especially as Minnesota had to punt the ball back to Los Angeles. After the final whistle, Vikings fans, and most of the NFL's fandom, was not thrilled about the missed call. One fan posted a photo of 'The Simpsons' character Bart Simpson with tinted sunglasses on and a walking stick, indicating he is blind. 'The back angle showed the ref looking literally right at it.' 'The game was basically lost but missed calls are so ridiculous at this point. We need good refs!' 'If it was Mahomes it wouldn't just be a penalty, that man would be fined and suspended.' The game's pool reporter did speak with referee Tra Blake after the game ended. 'Well, on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it,' Blake said. 'I did not have a look, and I did not see the facemask being pulled, obviously. The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a look at it. He was blocked out as well.' 'So, that was the thing, we did not see it, so we couldn’t call it. We couldn’t see it.' That explanation will not satisfy Vikings fans, who watched their team lose for the second time in five days after starting the season undefeated.