Keep drinking that haterade.. You see half a dozen worse 'running into the punter' plays in every NFL game which are NOT called. That was the most blatant flop I have seen, and the refs fell for it. That single bad call by the refs had a HUGE impact on the game in the Lions' favor. The Cowboys were about to take over at around the 40 yeard line, and likely would have had at least a FG. So the direct result of that bad call was that the Cowboys lost possession, and the defense had to come back on the field when they weren't expected it, and the Lions got all the way down the field and got another TD. Should have been at lest 7-3 and because of that bad call, it ended up 14-0. The phantom holding call against Witten on the TD run, another bad call. The blatant hold the refs missed on that trick fake end-around, another bad no-call which went against Dallas. The bad 'offensive pass interference' call against Terrence Williams when he got shoved INTO the defender, it was NOT a pick play, yet another bad call. So yeah, the refs sucked all the way around today. However, on the PI call on Hitchens, nobody can deny Pettigrew had a grip on Hitchens' face mask, and so the call could just as easily have been offensive PI. Hitchens clearly was trying as hard as he could to NOT interfere with the receiver, and has already been shown, face-guarding is not a penalty. There should have just been no flag thrown there at all, and nobody would really have complained. They ultimately made the right decision, but it looked very bad and it puts a cloud over an otherwise great day for the Cowboys. Yes it was weird and wrong that they actually announced the penalty before picking it up, but that's the kind of thing when you have strangers working a crew and their wires got crossed. I doubt it will happen again, the league will read the refs the riot act after today. Detroit has a big-time defense, and they almost managed to come in and beat Dallas, so much respect to them. They were probably the best overall defense in the playoffs, so it will be very interesting to see how things go from this point.
If you think the rest of the nation (other than Cowboys fans) should be giving respect to the Cowboys and denying the obvious impact the horrific officiating had on the outcome on the game, just forget about it. It's not happening because the rest of the nation isn't blind or stupid. Your argument is akin to the Government of China saying "So what if we steal your intellectual property? You can succeed in spite of our crimes." Officiating should not decide NFL games but the Lions flat out got screwed today. This was an epic screw-job that will be talked about for years. The Lions outplayed the Cowboys thoroughly in the first half. Your argument that they didn't deserve to win simply because they didn't score a ton of points in the second half is just ridiculous drivel. They didn't need to score as many points as they had a sizeable cushion. They just needed to not get raped by the refs and they probably would have won that game. We'll never know since the fix was likely in.
It's pretty simple. The NFL stands to make a hell of a lot more money from a Dallas @ GB matchup than a Detroit @ Seattle matchup. I've never seen a call that obvious missed before. Like I said, the pass interference call can perhaps be debated in that situation but Dez Bryant running onto the field to yell at the refs like a complete moron without his helmet on and NOT drawing a flag can not be characterized as anything other than gross misconduct by the officials.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I am out of here. Biggest call was the DPI pickup. It was DPI and it was defensive holding as well. Not good. Flying back to Sac tonight.</p>— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikePereira/status/551905441685323776">January 5, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>And yes Dez Bryant Should have been penalized for being on the field without a helmet. Really confusing situation!</p>— Jim Daopoulos (@RefereeJimD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RefereeJimD/status/551896988493434880">January 5, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Even if no interference, Hitchens grabbed Pettigrew's jersey all the way. Should've been defensive holding. <a href="http://t.co/AfkDgAGlgj">pic.twitter.com/AfkDgAGlgj</a></p>— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelDavSmith/status/551904533522034688">January 5, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Ridiculous. RT <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldofIsaac">@WorldofIsaac</a>: Nothing to see here. <a href="http://t.co/7WmqSPDiZj">pic.twitter.com/7WmqSPDiZj</a></p>— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonGowton/status/551897485388824576">January 5, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Maybe the holds by Tyron Smith & Ronald Leary cancelled each other out on the GW touchdown? <a href="http://t.co/XCry2SoYwy">pic.twitter.com/XCry2SoYwy</a></p>— Dave Dameshek (@Dameshek) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dameshek/status/551912255332175872">January 5, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Here's the illegal contact on Calvin that FOX didn't replay. <a href="http://t.co/zSQaNjY50t">pic.twitter.com/zSQaNjY50t</a></p>— Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldofIsaac/status/551902829024411650">January 5, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
If it was a "fix" then why so many bad calls against Dallas early on? Officiating is just not very good.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Dallas wins. Here are the highlights: <a href="http://t.co/jX3irpmRRf">pic.twitter.com/jX3irpmRRf</a></p>— Philly Eagles Fans (@PHIEagleFans) <a href="https://twitter.com/PHIEagleFans/status/551902541903314944">January 5, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Even a Cowboys player thinks it was pass interference <a href="http://t.co/sgbRfSfvHr">http://t.co/sgbRfSfvHr</a> <a href="http://t.co/jnwnHPiqz4">pic.twitter.com/jnwnHPiqz4</a></p>— SB Nation NFL (@SBNationNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/SBNationNFL/status/551922110395072512">January 5, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I am SHOCKED that flag was picked up. I must admit, that was pass interference on Hitchens.</p>— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSkipBayless/status/551894357054607361">January 5, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
They were plenty of holding calls that weren't called both ways. The Lions player was blocked into the kicker, so that shouldn't have been a foul. Picking up the pass interference was the obvious terrible call in the game. That was the huge turning point.
The Lions led the Cowboys 20-17 with 8:25 left to play in the 4th quarter. On 3rd and 1 from the DAL 46, QB Matthew Stafford threw incomplete to WR Brandon Pettigrew. The officials threw a flag and announced a pass interference penalty on DAL, which would have given DET a 1st and 10 at the DAL 30. But the officials picked up the flag and never enforced the penalty, leaving DET with a 4th and 1. This was a controversial call by the officials, to say the least. So the question is, how big was this call on the outcome of the game? The Cowboys went on to win, but that doesn't mean the call caused DET to lose with certainty. Either outcome was still possible after the call. We need to think of things probabilistically. Let's break down the effect of the official's call using the new Win Probability Model. After picking up the flag, DET had a 0.672 win probability (WP). Had the pass interference penalty been enforced, DET had a 0.794 WP, a difference of about 0.12 WP or 12 percentage points. http://www.advancedfootballanalytics.com/index.php/home/analysis/game-analysis/210-how-much-did-the-reversed-penalty-affect-the-lions-cowboys-game?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
That flag pickup bailed out the real question. On 3rd and 1 why are you throwing deep and if you do then you should go for it on 4th and 1.
Its only fitting that the biggest win for the Cowboys since the 90's will result in nothing but scandal/game-fixing/referee cahoots being discussed as the only reasons why. They bring most of it on themselves...
Maybe Stafford saw how the LB was defending the TE and decided to get a cheap PI call. I've seen it before.
Maybe my memory is fuzzy but I believe they were going for it on 4th and 1 but had a penalty that moved them back to 4th and 6.
The "rest of the nation" simply doesn't care. In 48 hours, no one will be talking about any missed calls - they'll simply be talking about the next game. There are missed calls in every NFL game every week. Flags get (wrongly or rightly) picked up here and there. The only thing that makes this one unique was that they announced it and so it had awkward timing. But the other missed calls are just as bad and impact games just as much. No one ever cares in the long run because its part of the game. PI, like Holding and some other specific penalities, is a judgment call - some handfighting and body contact happens on almost every play, and it's up to the ref to decide when it's "too much". How so? The NFL has a multiyear set-rate TV contract. How, specifically, do they make extra money on a particular matchup?
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tdAKk42OzVw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Mike Pereira's analysis.
Looked like PI to me but I'm glad they picked it up. Detroit screwed up by not going for it on 4th and 1. that would have sealed the game. They tried to draw them offsides and didn't so they took the delay penalty. big mistake IMO. Greenbay is going to be a very tough matchup for the cowboys. Should be a great game.
