NFL: "Cowboys got away with penalty "

[Pugz]

NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino isnt trying to sugarcoat the key call that went against the Lions in Sundays loss to the Cowboys.

Blandino, appearing on PFT Live, told Mike Florio that Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens did get away with a penalty on the Lions fourth-quarter pass to Brandon Pettigrew. But Blandino said the missed call that troubled him most was not the pass interference flag that was originally thrown but later picked up.

According to Blandino, the clear penalty Hitchens got away with was defensive holding: Hitchens grabbed Pettigrews jersey while Pettigrew was running his route, and Blandino said that should have been called. If it had been, it would have given the Lions an automatic first down.

Blandino said the pass interference penalty that one official flagged, only to get overruled by another official, was a close call that could have went either way. Blandino acknowledged that the officials should have done a better job of communicating, first among themselves so that they could get the call right, and then after referee Pete Morelli turned on his microphone to announce the penalty. Morelli first announced pass interference, then later announced that the pass interference penalty would not be enforced but that second announcement was so hasty that the FOX broadcast missed it.

Although some observers have suggested that Pettigrew also should have been flagged for facemasking Hitchens, Blandino says thats not the case.

I felt that was minimal contact, Blandino said of Pettigrews contact with Hitchenss facemask.

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant ran onto the field to argue the pass interference call, and Blandino said Bryant could have been flagged for that. Blandino said running on the field to argue with an official is not an automatic penalty, but he added that I certainly would have supported a call for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Ultimately, Blandino admits, if all of the elements of that play had been called correctly, the Lions would have had a first down. Instead the Lions had a fourth down, shanked a punt, and gave up the game-winning touchdown on the subsequent drive. The Lions will be left to wonder what might have happened if that penalty on Hitchens had been called.

 

[Sportsguy9695]

the refs blew that call and need to admit it. i think if the flag stayed the lions would of won

 

[RipCity32]

Love hearing shit like this the day after it happens lol. Salt in the wound.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

the refs blew that call and need to admit it. i think if the flag stayed the lions would of won

 
Eh, they had plenty of chances later on to win the game. 

 

[BwareDWare94]

No team that scores 3 points in the second half of a football game should win that game. 

 

[RipCity32]

Doesn't make up for the fact the refs ruined the game.

 

[BwareDWare94]

Doesn't make up for the fact the refs ruined the game.

 
Disagree. A bad call doesn't ruin a game with 8 minutes left. If it this was under 5 minutes, I wouldn't hesitate to agree with you in the slightest. I would argue roughing the passer could have been called against the Lions multiple times. I'm quite certain that Tony Romo was hit illegally on the game winning touchdown pass. I don't know why they aren't calling roughing on all of below the knee shots that continues to happen. I understand they don't want to call it if they don't see if a player was blocked into the quarterback or not, but Tony was hit well after he threw the ball multiple times. If he was Peyton or Brady, the Lions would have seen yellow on some of those hits.
 
The biggest point of this situation is that the better team advanced to the Divisional Round.
 
The Lions need a different quarterback.

 

[RipCity32]

I don't see how the amount of time left matters.
 
The refs missed 3 calls on that play. Pettigrew was being held on the route, the actual flag they took away, and the fact Dez ran on the field to argue the call. All 3 would've resulted in a Lions 1st down, with the one they actually took away putting us just about in field goal range. 
I would've been meh to the situation had they not announced the penalty only to remove it after already announcing it and moving the ball (even though it was a pretty clear penalty to begin with). That is inexcusable. It was a complete momentum killer for the team. 
 
Do we win the game if the penalty stands? Who knows. But I do believe that taking the flag away put the nail in the coffin. And it is a damn shame the refs had to mess that up for us, and we didn't get to see the game unfold the way it should have. 
 
Also, the whole "the better team won" point is stupid. The better team doesn't always win nor should they be awarded a win just because they are better. The Lions played a good game and deserved to win it just as much as the Cowboys did. Just because they took the flag away doesn't make the situation okay because "the better team won," so stop with that garbage. 

 

[RipCity32]

Also there was pretty clear hands to the face that they missed on that game winning touchdown too I believe, that a Cowboys O-line player committed. Either that one or the one prior to it. So that card works both ways. 
 
Of course they missed penalties, on both sides. But this doesn't compare to that. 

 

[BwareDWare94]

I don't see how the amount of time left matters.
 
The refs missed 3 calls on that play. Pettigrew was being held on the route, the actual flag they took away, and the fact Dez ran on the field to argue the call. All 3 would've resulted in a Lions 1st down, with the one they actually took away putting us just about in field goal range. 
I would've been meh to the situation had they not announced the penalty only to remove it after already announcing it and moving the ball (even though it was a pretty clear penalty to begin with). That is inexcusable. It was a complete momentum killer for the team. 
 
Do we win the game if the penalty stands? Who knows. But I do believe that taking the flag away put the nail in the coffin. And it is a damn shame the refs had to mess that up for us, and we didn't get to see the game unfold the way it should have. 
 
Also, the whole "the better team won" point is stupid. The better team doesn't always win nor should they be awarded a win just because they are better. The Lions played a good game and deserved to win it just as much as the Cowboys did. Just because they took the flag away doesn't make the situation okay because "the better team won," so stop with that garbage. 

 
I'll say it again, the Lions didn't deserve to win--in the slightest--when they could only muster 3 points in the second half.

 

[RipCity32]

And I'm trying to say the fact this penalty was taken away contributed to the fact they only scored 3 points in the 2nd half. They more than likely walk away with at least another field goal if it stands. They also don't botch a punt to give the Cowboys prime field position to come down and score. Completely changes the outcome of the game.
 
Irrelevant now either way. But to say this isn't a big deal is ridiculous IMO. As many heads of the NFL have basically said we got screwed.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

It's crazy how this is the one time BWare DOESN'T complain about refs haha. I've been saying all along, he just uses the refs as a scapegoat when the team he is rooting for loses.

 

[Pugz]

It's crazy how this is the one time BWare DOESN'T complain about refs haha. I've been saying all along, he just uses the refs as a scapegoat when the team he is rooting for loses.

will bware complain about the refs in this game? NOPE

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Regardless though, the Lions had plenty of chances. Could've stopped the Cowboys on the GW Drive. Could've marched down the field for the score. They didn't.

 

[BwareDWare94]

I've said it was a bad call, and that multiple penalties against Dallas were missed on the play. What can I do aside from ackowledge that they fucked up? I simply don't think it greatly affected the game. Matt Stafford had 3 turnovers on the second half. Two fumbles, one interception. Calvin couldn't find the endzone. What did Golden Tate do after his touchdown? Where did the Detroit offense go after the first quarter? Where was that defense when Tony Romo caught fire?
 
There are so many reasons that Detroit lost that game. It's crazy.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

I agree. I'm just saying, if the jerseys were flipped, you would be bitching to no end on how the Cowboys got screwed.

 

[Sportsguy9695]

 
Eh, they had plenty of chances later on to win the game. 

yea they may of had plenty of chances but that was a big turning point in the 4th quarter

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Oh man.... 
 

PFT:
 
The infamous pass interference pickup wasn’t the only missed call that went against the Lions in Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys.
 
The NFL has also admitted that the crucial fourth-and-6 conversion the Cowboys picked up on the way toward their game-winning touchdown was aided by an uncalled holding infraction. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the NFL admitted to the Lions today that Ndamukong Suh was held on the play, on which Tony Romo completed a 21-yard pass to Jason Witten.
 
If the holding had been called, the Cowboys would have faced fourth-and-16 from their own side of the field and surely would have punted. Instead, the completion gave the Cowboys first-and-10 at the Lions’ 21-yard line, and they went on to score the go-ahead touchdown with 2:32 left in the fourth quarter.
 
Lions fans have used social media over the last 48 hours to point to several plays when Cowboys’ offensive linemen weren’t flagged while holding Lions’ defensive linemen. It’s not clear whether the Lions have complained to the league office about all of those plays, but this particular play was a huge one, and one on which the league office agrees with the Lions that a hold should have been called.
 

 

Wow. I assume it was an obvious hold for the NFL to admit it should have been called. Wonder if anyone's got a video or gif of that play. 

 

 
 
One person said that this is "even worse than the PI call/no call."

https://www.facebook.com/AdamSchefter/posts/886378061414836

 

[RipCity32]

Lol dopeee

 

[BwareDWare94]

I agree. I'm just saying, if the jerseys were flipped, you would be bitching to no end on how the Cowboys got screwed.

 
Admission time: I didn't watch the last three quarters. Had I witnessed it live I certainly would have reacted.