INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold didn't blame the officials for a missed face mask call when he was sacked for a safety late in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams . Instead, Darnold lamented the situation that pinned the Vikings deep in the first place.
“The facemask — it is what it is,” Darnold said. “I thought we could’ve done a lot to not put ourselves in the situation that we were in. We just have to continue to play better and not put ourselves in that situation to begin with.
” The Vikings got the ball at their own 5-yard line with 1:46 remaining after Rams punter Ethan Evans' 41-yard kick landed out of bounds on the left sideline. Darnold missed connecting with Jordan Addison on first down. On second-and-10, Darnold got a couple clean seconds in the pocket before Byron Young barreled past left guard Blake Brandel and took down Darnold for a safety, putting the game out of reach.
Referee Tra Blake said in a pool report that he and umpire Carl Paganelli — the two officials closest to the play — did not have a clear view. Blake said the officiating crew discussed the play after the Vikings brought up Young's infraction, but no one was able to clearly see it. Face mask calls are not reviewable by instant replay.
“The quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me so I did not have a good look at it. I did not have a look, and I did not see the facemask being pulled,” Blake said. "T.