Mike Zimmer and the Vikings got tricked after believing a single replay angle, and it cost them a challenge.
Rams punter Johnny Hekker was punting out of the back of his own end zone, and looking at the first replay angle, everyone thought that Hekker has stepped out of bounds for a safety.
The first replay:
Whole #Viking sideline just went bonkers as video boards showed #Rams punter Johnny Hekker apparently step out of bounds. Mike Zimmer with the red flag fling straight up in the air.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 19, 2017
The second replay:
And now an "ohhhhhh" from the crowd as a second angle appears to show he was in bounds. They have multiple cameras now!
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 19, 2017
Here’s the second replay view that drew the “ohhhhhh” from the crowd:
You could understand why Zimmer might try to be a badass like Mike Tomlin and throw his challenge flag straight up in the air like a boss after what he believes to be a conclusive replay.
But like anything, there’s always more than one side to a story.
Maybe one day Zimmer will be able to do something really slick like that. Until then, he’s going to have to hold this L and hope it doesn’t come back to bite his team.