Vikings defensive touchdown overturned on strange play against Rams

The replay booth ruled that Matthew Stafford's flick of the ball was a pass attempt.
Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) practices before the NFC wild card game against the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium.
Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) practices before the NFC wild card game against the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The Vikings had a defensive touchdown wiped off the board in odd fashion in Monday night's playoff game against the Rams.

On a play early in the second quarter, Jonathan Greenard got to Matthew Stafford and was in the process of sacking him when Stafford backhand flipped the ball in front of him before hitting the grass. Blake Cashman scooped it up and raced to the end zone for what appeared to be a game-tying touchdown.

The ruling on the field was a fumble. But upon replay review, it was overturned and ruled as an incomplete forward pass. There was also no penalty for intentional grounding, even though it's about as "intentional grounding" as it gets, at least based on the definition of those two words. Because grounding wasn't called initially, it couldn't be added after review, according to ESPN's rules analyst.

The broadcast showed Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell visibly irate on the sideline after the ruling was overturned. Whether his complaint was with the pass/fumble determination or the lack of a grounding penalty (or both) is unclear.

The Rams led the Vikings 10-3 at the time of the play. Follow along for live updates here.


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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.