Controversy seems to follow the Dallas Cowboys everywhere they go in this season’s NFL playoffs. Last weeks victory over the Detroit Lions was overshadowed by a controversial pass interference call that was enforced by the referee and then later picked up and reversed. Obviously, the Cowboys won that game which was then followed by a week long uproar of speculations, what-ifs, and shoulda coulda wouldas.
Fast forward to this weeks NFC playoff match up where the Cowboys faced the Green Bay Packers. What should have gone down as nothing more than a phenominal playoff game between two great teams again ends in what will be a week long debate about the catch (or not) heard around the world. While many believed that 4th and 2 play late in the game was a completion by Dez Bryant, the official NFL rule quickly put the speculations to bed.
Bryant came down with Tony Romo’s gutsy 4th down pass, and in an effort to reach the end zone the football touches the ground, causing the Packers coach Mike McCarthy to believe he never secured the ball. Coach throws the challenge flag, the refs take a long look, reverses the call on the field, enforces the rule, the rest is history. By rule, Dez Bryant did not make a “football move” that would ensure the ball was secure after the catch.
The aftermath of the game has created a buzz just as big as the game itself with speculation from Cowboys fans and haters alike. Some would go on to say the reversal was bogus and that the Cowboys were robbed. Others would say the Cowboys are a victim of karma after surviving last weeks controversy versus the Lions. In the end the refs felt they went by the book. And as foolish as it may seem, rules are rules… Right?
