The difference between a touchdown and a touchback can be dangerously close, which Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson learned the hard way during the Vikings’ 34-28 loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia. 

Jefferson, 24, looked as though he was about to put the Vikings ahead at the end of the first half when Kirk Cousins hit Jefferson for a 30-yard pass.

But as Jefferson, who ran toward the goal line and was tackled, he lost control of the ball and fumbled it out of bounds into the end zone.

The officials huddled to decide on the call and ultimately, after it was reviewed, they ruled that it was a touchback because the ball had been fumbled inside the pylon and thus out of the end zone, ending a 74-yard drive in disastrous fashion with just 33 seconds left on the clock in the half. 

To make matters worse, after the Eagles got the ball back, they converted on a 61-yard field goal before halftime to pad their lead to 13-7. 

“Justin’s just trying to make a play in that moment,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game.

“He’s trying to do whatever he can to win. That was incredibly unfortunate at the time.”

Jefferson told reporters after the game that the onus for the situation fell on him.

“I’m putting it a lot on myself,” he said, according to the Star Tribune. “Fumbling in the end zone like that when we need points and we’re driving and having that momentum. I was telling my teammates that’s on me and it won’t happen again”

The fumble rule has long been a bit of a controversial one, and some people on social were not happy when it reared its ugly head on Thursday. 

Punter-turned-sports-media-darling Pat McAfee chimed in on X, formerly known as Twitter, after it happened. 

Stream the game live on Thursday night on Amazon Prime Video

“Man… touchbacks are the focking worst,” he wrote. 

“Always think this is a dumb rule — why should the defense get the ball here if they rule a fumble over the pylon? If you fumble the ball out of bounds anywhere on the field, the defense doesn’t get it,” wrote CBS47/FOX30 (Jacksonville) sports director Brent Martineau. 

The Jets were victimized by the rule in 2017 during a heartbreaking loss to the rival Patriots.

Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins appeared to score a touchdown before the officials overturned the call upon video review, calling it a touchback. 

The call cost the Jets the game, which they lost 24-17. 

Despite that bad break, Justin Jefferson recorded 11 receptions for 159 yards in the Vikings’ loss.

Jefferson’s big night pushed him over the 5,000 career-yard mark — putting him at 5,134 to be exact — and he now has more receiving yards than any Bears receiver in the franchise’s 100-plus year history.

— With AP