The Detroit Lions dropped an important conference matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night, and their lone touchdown added some insult to injury. Wide receiver Jameson Williams made Detroit’s only trip to the end zone on a 40-yard touchdown in the second quarter, but he drew a 15-yard penalty for jumping on the goal post in celebration.
The penalty wound up costing the Lions a point as Jake Bates missed a PAT that was pushed back due to the infraction. But it seemed like everything was behind them even as Dan Campbell warned Williams to not do it again.
Unfortunately, Williams’s actions may have opened a can of worms as Dallas Cowboys WR George Pickens celebrated a touchdown during Monday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. After scoring on a 37-yard dash to the end zone, Pickens hopped on the goalpost, drawing a 15-yard penalty of his own and throwing salt into the wounds of Lions fans.
George Pickens Just Reopened the Lions’ Celebration Controversy
Williams’s penalty was sophomoric but had plenty of precedent. The NFL outlawed celebrations involving the goalposts in 2015 to prevent damage and game delays. While Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez used the goal post in his dunk as his signature celebration after touchdowns, it was a 2013 dunk by former New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham that bent the goal posts, playing a large role in establishing the rule.
Even though the rule was established over a decade ago, it didn’t stop Williams or Pickens from breaking it this past weekend. Campbell complemented Williams’s touchdown while instructing him not to do the celebration again, but Pickens’ encore on Monday night revived the issue when the Lions could have put it behind them.
The Lions didn’t lose the game because of Williams’s celebration, but it could have affected them in a closer game. If Detroit had been able to score the game-tying touchdown late in the game, it could have become a glaring factor that would have sent the game into overtime instead of winning it, leading to a tie or a damaging loss.
The Green Bay Packers are one example of how things could go wrong. While there wasn’t an illegal celebration, the Packers had a blocked extra point that was returned for a two-point conversion in Week 4. While the Packers were up 16-2 at the time of the time of the blocked PAT, the Cowboys stormed back to take a lead late in the game and Brandon McManus’s field goal, which could have been a game-winner at the end of regulation, only tied the game to send it to overtime in an eventual 40-40 tie.
With each game increasing in importance down the stretch, the Lions need to make sure that Williams received the message that these mistakes can’t happen. Judging by Williams’s reaction on the sidelines Sunday night, it appears that’s the case. But it may need some extra reinforcement after Pickens’s penalty on Monday night.
More Detroit Lions News & Rumors: