Cowboys win, Rams take it on the chin: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Ugly

It is not often that the coin toss becomes a topic for conversation. Yet the Cowboys found a way to nearly bungle winning the coin toss.

Referee Walt Anderson had to ask the Cowboys captains three times for clarification on what they wanted to do with their decision. On the first try, Dak Prescott was clear in saying that they wanted to play defense.

On the second try, Prescott said they wanted to kick. On the third try, he said they want to kick it and defer their choice to the second half.

Anderson heard kick and it appeared like the Cowboys were going to kick at the start of the second half. Fortunately, the NFL stepped in with a game administration replay.

As per the NFL rulebook’s Rule 15, Section 3, Article 9: Game administration allows the replay official to consult with on field officials or conduct a replay review of game administration issues. New York was able to contact the game officials and sort out the issue.

Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence tried to deflect blame from Prescott. He reminded Prescott that the Cowboys wanted to play defense to start the game. After the game, Prescott tried to find some humor with the near bungled coin toss (via USA Today):

"“We wanted to set adversity there instead of on the field so we could play from behind immediately. Just bad use of words by me. We listened to the audio. We got it figured out. Just wasn’t the cleanest coin flip I’ve been a part of.”"

Luckily for the Cowboys, this was as close to the ‘Boys being the Dallas team we have seen seven times in the last ten games. You can bet that the next time the Cowboys win the coin toss they will simply say “defer.” When you win 44-21, a lot went well. The Cowboys executed a near-flawless gameplan.

The Dallas Cowboys will need to turnaround next week and do the same when they travel to Philadelphia for the NFC East Championship game against the Eagles. A win guarantees a playoff berth while a loss could end a disappointing season.