That Time the Vikings Got Screwed On a Non-Call vs. the Cowboys (Video)

Younger Viking fans are having a lot of fun rubbing it in to Lions fans after yesterday’s loss to the Cowboys, but older Viking fans can be forgiven if they’re feeling more sympathetic than gleeful.

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You see, once upon a time the Vikings themselves got screwed in a fashion not dissimilar to the way the Lions were allegedly jobbed yesterday. But you have to be pretty old to remember it.

Yesterday, with 8:25 left in the game and the Lions ahead 20-14, Detroit’s Brandon Pettigrew appeared to get interfered with by the Cowboys’ Anthony Hitchens on a 3rd-and-1 play. A flag was thrown initially but the officials talked about it and decided it was not a penalty.

Had the penalty been called, the Lions would have gotten a first down to keep their drive alive and might very well have scored again to ice the game. Instead, Dallas got the ball back and scored to take a lead they would not relinquish.

Why can some Viking fans relate? Because in 1975, the Vikings got ripped off by the refs in a playoff game against the Cowboys. And it was even worse than what happened to Detroit.

It’s a play that needs no introduction to Viking fans who know their history. Late in the conference title game with the Vikings ahead 14-10, Roger Staubach heaved one up to Drew Pearson who caught the ball despite being well-covered by Nate Wright and backed into the end zone for a go-ahead TD.

How was Pearson able to get separation from Wright? Because he pushed off. He pushed off so hard that Wright actually fell down on the play. At least, that’s how Viking fans have always seen it. In Vikings lore, the refs should have flagged Pearson and the Vikings should have been victorious.

Thanks to that non-call the Cowboys won the game and the Vikings were prevented from going to the Super Bowl.

Two plays separated by almost 40 years, same result. The Cowboys get the benefit of a no-call in a playoff game and advance while another team heads home bitter and defeated.

Viking fans much older than me, who remember that Drew Pearson play like it was yesterday, are bound to look at the Lions-Cowboys play from Sunday and shake their heads with disbelief. Why do the Cowboys always get the benefit of such breaks?

It’s enough to make you wonder, isn’t it Lions fans and old-timey Viking backers?