On Thursday evening, NFL officials missed Los Angeles Rams linebacker Byron Young’s catch off Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold’s facemask in the end zone en route to a sack and safety late in the fourth quarter, lifting Los Angeles to a 30-20 victory.

Now comes the news from Pro Football Talk Mike Florio Making face mask penalties reviewable will “probably” be up for discussion after the season, he said (after reaching NFL Vice President of Communications Brian McCarthy via email).

“Yes, the face mask is likely to arrive this summer,” Brian McCarthy said in an email to Florio on Friday.

Florio asked McCarthy if the league’s Competition Committee would “review the situation” after the 2024 season.

“Instant replay and what plays should and shouldn’t be reviewed is part of every offseason conversation, and it’s expected to come up again,” McCarthy replied.

“Teams can propose a rule change, and various suggestions have been made previously about which games or all games can and cannot be reviewed.”

There was a crucial missed call on Thursday that destroyed the Vikings’ chance to go all the way down the field and tie the game at 28 before regulation ended.

Although the facemask grab occurred during the scoring play, the penalty was not reviewable and the Rams prevailed.

As Florio notes, “this change is really a no-brainer” and “there is no valid argument against it.”

A hypothetical facemask review last night would have given the Vikings the ball on 1st-and-10 at their own 20-yard line, trailing 28-20 with 1:36 left.

Minnesota needed to go 80 yards for the touchdown (and convert the two-point conversion) without a timeout, but at least the Vikings would have a chance.

Instead, it was game over for Minnesota as an exciting and competitive game ended on a disappointing note.

Referee Tra Blake was the closest person to the play and was asked about the non-call afterward. pool reportAccording to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.

“The quarterback was looking the opposite way to me, so I didn’t get a good look at him,” Blake said.

“I didn’t look, and of course I didn’t see the face mask being pulled down. There were players between the referee and the quarterback, so he didn’t look. He was blocked, too. So, that was it, we didn’t see it, so we couldn’t see it.”

Of course, NFL officials probably can’t see everything, and human error is part of the game. The easiest way to fix situations like last night’s no-call is to review the face mask that provides referees with much-needed support.

This emerged as a hotly debated topic in the offseason. But for now, the Vikings need to move on from the tough loss that dropped them to 5-2.