More interesting details have emerged regarding the NFL’s decision to assign referee Brad Allen and his crew to the Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens game on Saturday.

Allen’s crew is under scrutiny for the controversial “illegal touching” penalty that was called against Taylor Decker late in the Dallas Cowboys-Detroit Lions game last Saturday. Officials claim that Decker didn’t report as eligible, thus taking his game-winning two-point conversion reception off the board. Detroit’s last attempt was unsuccessful, and the Cowboys squeaked out a close 20-19 win.

 

Many were surprised and agitated when the NFL assigned Allen’s crew another prime time game for Week 18. But according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Allen’s crew was given this game long before the Cowboys-Lions controversy:
“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the assignment was made in Week 6 or Week 7. At the time, Steelers-Ravens in Week 18 could have been meaningless to both teams, meaningless to one team, meaningful to both teams. It could have been selected for any of the five windows, including the prime-time spot on NBC.”

Many fans blasted the league for not holding Allen’s crew accountable, but Florio’s report provides full clarity on the matter. Whether fans like it or not, the league wasn’t about to make a late change to its officiating crews for the regular season finale.

 

Both Decker and Jared Goff claimed that he did in fact report eligible before the game-winning two-point play. But before the play, officials only said that No. 70 (offensive lineman Dan Skipper) had reported eligible.

Allen’s crew was also under scrutiny earlier this year for several missed calls late in the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, as previously reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.