The Dallas Cowboys put a lot of ugly football on display in their 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. They were sloppy in all three phases, which is saying something about the offense, considering it still put up 30 points. But their slow start dug a hole they spent most of the night trying to climb out of.
On top of ugly football, the officiating crew turned in one of the worst blunders you will ever see when it flagged Jake Ferguson for offensive pass interference on 3rd-and-3 from the Detroit 11-yard line with 3:50 left in the fourth quarter. It initially looked like Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone was going to get flagged after the replay showed him tugging on Ferguson's jersey.
After a brief consolidation, the refs somehow decided to flag Ferguson for OPI. Brian Schottenheimer was beside himself, as was the Amazon Prime broadcast. Even the normally buttoned-up Prescott couldn't help but question the call, seemingly care-free about a potential fine.
"Do I get fined for talking about this?… I’m sorry, that was bad. I got to look at the film, maybe I can see it from their vantage point. I know I talked to the ref after, he said [Ferguson] aggressively pulled through. I’ve never seen a call like that," Prescott said, via Cowboys team reporter Tommy Yarrish.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott left dumfounded by refs flagging Jake Ferguson for OPI
You can watch a slow-motion replay of the call behind this link.
It is clear as day that Anzalone grabbed Ferguson, while Ferguson played within the NFL's rulebook to gain separation in tight-man coverage. The Cowboys' tight end executed a textbook swim move with his arms to work through the coverage and put himself in position to make a play on the ball. You will be hard-pressed to find a worse call in the NFL this season.
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Let's make one thing clear: The blunder is not the reason the Cowboys lost. Even if they finished off that drive with a touchdown, they needed their defense to get a stop on the ensuing drive, or at least force a field goal. That did not happen, as the Lions found the end zone in just three plays to ice the game.
That's also not the point. To make that call in that situation in a game that had massive playoff implications on the line is just an awful look for the league. If Dallas scored, they would've pulled within a field goal.
That isn't to say the defense would've gotten a stop, but again, a touchdown there would've made the game a lot more compelling in the closing minutes. There was no need for the refs to intervene. Call the pass interference on Anzalone, and let's play ball.
It's not breaking news that NFL officiating is terrible, but the league cannot, under any circumstance, allow that crew to do a playoff game.