The Jaguars were a mess offensively on Sunday and they allowed the Vikings to possess the ball for more than 41 minutes, but they still had an opportunity to give themselves a chance to pull out a win when they stopped running back Aaron Jones short of a first down late in the fourth quarter.
Any hope that would happen died a moment later, however. Defensive end Travon Walker made a late attempt to yank the ball away from Jones and officials ruled that it was too late by penalizing him for unnecessary roughness. The penalty allowed the Vikings to kneel out a 12-7 win.
“The ref basically, literally, said I was too aggressive after the whistle was blown,” Walker said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. “So that definitely surprised me — referee telling me that I’m too aggressive in the game of football.”
Walker may not have liked the call, but it’s hard to understand why he’d be surprised by getting a penalty for something that went on after the whistle was blown. It was a poor decision by Walker and it should serve as a reminder to others about knowing when to say when.
