Minnesota's Greatest Threat Is Hiding In Plain Sight

In Week 9, old friend Taylor Heinicke dropped back on a second-and-seven play-action pass from midfield. The former Minnesota Vikings practice squad quarterback avoided pressure and threw wantonly into triple-coverage. Washington Commanders receiver Curtis Samuel was sprinting toward the end zone, but he had Harrison Smith and Patrick Peterson closing in on him to his right. Camryn Bynum raced in from their left and had a beat on the ball.

Bynum had already started backpedaling and raised his arms to pick Heinicke’s pass in front of Samuel. But the back judge stood between Samuel and Bynum, and Bynum collided with him. The official immediately dropped to the turf. Bynum continued backpedaling but tripped and fell before he could get under the ball. Samuel reeled it in and rolled into the end zone as Bynum threw his hands up, expressing his frustration.

The touchdown counted, and Washington took a 10-7 lead they would not relinquish until the final moments of the game. The back judge did not intend to collide with Bynum. Nobody in their right mind would put themselves in harm’s way like that. And the officials try to call a clean game without interfering with the players. But the players have to be aware of where the officials are and avoid them, lest they fall victim to Bynum’s fate – even if Bynum never saw the back judge on that play.

The Washington incident was hardly the only time the Vikings have fallen victim to officiating flaws this year. Jefferson would have had 256 yards and a touchdown in his franchise-record-breaking game against the Detroit Lions two weeks ago, but the officials ruled him out of bounds and whistled the play dead. Missing an out-of-bounds play isn’t a big deal; his foot was near the boundary. But by whistling the play dead, the referees didn’t allow the Vikings to review the play and overturn the call.

In Detroit, the Vikings also fell victim to a quirk in the rule book where a player can forward progress backward and lost a first down and a challenge because of it. A week later, forward progress haunted the Vikings again. Chandon Sullivan returned a fumble for a touchdown, but the referees blew the play dead even though Indianapolis Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. was still fighting for yards.

Later in the game, Za’Darius Smith stripped running back Deon Jackson, and Sullivan scooped up the ball and ran it back for a touchdown. However, the officials also had a quick whistle on that play, even though Jackson was standing up when Smith stripped him of the ball.

Finally, Jalen Reagor had a potentially momentum-changing punt return, but the officials flagged Kris Boyd for a face-masking penalty. The only problem? Boyd never grabbed anyone’s facemask.

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The Vikings completed their historic comeback against Indianapolis, so the officiating mishaps didn’t ultimately affect the outcome of the game. Furthermore, they never should have allowed the hapless Colts to build a 33-0 lead. A lot of that mess was of Minnesota’s own making. Similarly, the Vikings didn’t lose in Detroit because of officiating. They were missing Harrison Smith in the secondary, Dalvin Cook had a momentum-changing fumble, and Kevin O’Connell was occasionally overzealous with his playcalling. Ultimately, the Lions were favored at home and beat them.

There is nothing the Vikings, or any team, can do to ensure the officials call a perfect game. Even the best officials make errors at critical parts of the game. There is also no immediate recourse for some missed calls. The officials can penalize Sullivan for removing his helmet, but Minnesota can’t challenge the missed call because the referees whistled the play dead.

Therefore, the Vikings need to build a margin of victory to ensure that they don’t fall victim to poor officiating. They may not be able to do that when they’re playing better teams in the postseason, but Vegas will likely favor Minnesota in their final three games. The New York Giants have regressed, the Green Bay Packers’ season fell apart early, and the Chicago Bears are on a seven-game losing streak.

Winning by more than one score isn’t about phantom BCS points, it’s about creating fortification against bad luck. That doesn’t only mean a strange bounce from an oblong ball or a fluke play. It also means factoring in officiating mishaps. They happen, and the Vikings are well aware of that. Sometimes it’s an early whistle. Sometimes it’s a phantom facemask. And, in rare instances, a referee will physically get in the way. Minnesota has experienced it all this year. It hasn’t cost them yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t.