The Missed Pass Interference Wasn’t the Only Blown Call That Screwed the Cowboys

In Friday’s Hot Clicks: another call that went against Dallas in its opener against the Bucs, the Yankees’ terrible streak and more.

How do you miss this?

It wouldn’t be NFL season if we weren’t talking about officiating controversies the day after a big game. 

The new year got off to a thrilling start with the Buccaneers’ comeback win over the Cowboys on Thursday night. Dak Prescott looked great, 11 months after breaking his ankle, but Tom Brady was equally great and led Tampa Bay on a game-winning drive in the final moments. 

The biggest play of that drive was a flawless back-shoulder throw from Brady to Chris Godwin that put the Bucs in field goal range. There’s no denying that the timing of the throw was impeccable, but Godwin made the catch easy for himself by, ahem, making a little extra room. Was it offensive pass interference? You be the judge. 

It looked like a penalty to me, but I wasn’t the one wearing the striped shirt. 

The non-call essentially won the game for the Bucs, but it wasn’t the only big missed penalty that went against Dallas. Late in the second quarter, the Cowboys took over with great field position after an interception by Trevon Diggs on a botched screen pass. They ended up going three and out and settling for a field goal, but the drive should have been extended if the officials had properly enforced the rules. 

On the third-down play, Prescott threw a pass over the middle that was broken up by Lavonte David. Upset that he wasn’t able to secure the interception, David ripped off his helmet and slammed it on the turf. Every football fan knows that’s a penalty, but David wasn’t called for one. 

Of course the Godwin play is going to garner more attention, because it led directly to the game-winning field goal. But Cowboys fans should be upset with the missed call on David, too. The non-call on Godwin is a matter of debate, but the rulebook is crystal clear about taking your helmet off. David’s display of frustration should have been a 15-yard penalty that gave the Cowboys a new set of downs at the 8-yard line. It’s inexcusable that such an obvious penalty would go uncalled. There’s no guarantee that Dallas would have capitalized by scoring a touchdown, but every scoring opportunity is valuable in a game as close as this one. 

Who wants free stuff?

The giveaway I mentioned in Thursday’s Hot Clicks for Call of Duty: Vanguard is still active. I have four Xbox/PC codes to give away. For more information on the game and beta access, visit this link.

Here’s how to win:

• Go back to Wednesday’s Hot Clicks.
• Find the names of the three Cowboys players Tom Brady was referring to when complaining about jersey numbers.
• Send me an email (dan.gartland@si.com) with Call of Duty giveaway as the subject line and all three names in the body text.
• The 10th, 20th, 30th and 40th persons to follow those instructions will win.

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