Vikings lose to Cowboys after referees miss seemingly obvious penalty on game-deciding play

The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 17-15, Thursday night in somewhat controversial fashion after referees missed a penalty on the game-deciding play.

After scoring a touchdown to bring the score to 17-15, the Vikings needed a two-point conversion to tie the game.

On the play, Sam Bradford attempted to find tight end Kyle Rudolph in the end zone, but sent the ball sailing over his head. Game over.

Afterward, however, Bradford was incredulous, yelling at the referee that the Cowboys should have been called for a "blow to the head," which is roughing the passer. Upon further review, it looks like Bradford was right.

This seems pretty obvious:

Via NFL

Apparently, the referees did not have this angle and only saw Cowboys lineman Cedric Thornton hit Bradford on the right shoulder pad.

Bradford said after the game, "[The referee] told me that I did not get hit in the face mask."

Vikings defensive end Brian Robison was much more passionate (via ESPN):

"At the end of the day, that's a game-changing play and you've got to make those calls. At the end of the game, Bradford gets hit in the face. That's an opportunity for us to score and tie the ballgame, but it doesn't get called."

...

It gets to a point where it's too frustrating. I don't know. I'm probably going to get fined for this, I understand that, but somebody has got to step up and say something. ... I understand it's a hard game to ref. I understand all that. I get that there's just so many things going on every single play, but I just feel like sometimes it's just so blatant and obvious that it should be a no-miss call. ... It's just frustrating."

It is a painful way for the Vikings to lose. At the very least, there should have been a penalty on the Cowboys, giving the Vikings another shot at the two-point conversion.

Instead, the Vikings fell to 6-6, losers of six of their last seven games. Now two games behind the Lions for the lead in the NFC North, the Vikings' playoff hopes appear to be dwindling. On the other end of the spectrum, with a little bit of luck, the Cowboys just keep rolling.