Raven Country

NFL Admits Mistake in Ravens' Win vs. Cowboys

The Baltimore Ravens won the game, but were the victims of a questionable officiating call early on.

Jon Alfano

Sep 22, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) hugs Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after the game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Sep 22, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) hugs Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after the game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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It feels like a lifetime ago now, but the Baltimore Ravens' 28-25 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 is back in the news again. Not for the result itself, but for a questionable officiating call during the game.

Backed up early in the second quarter, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott dropped back to pass and tried to give his team some life. Just as Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike was about to bring him down for a safety, Prescott dumped the ball off to guard Tyler Smith, who was not an eligible receiver on the play. Rather than calling Prescott for intentional grounding, which would've given the Ravens a safety, the officials instead called Smith for illegal touching.

At the time, the Ravens were told that one penalty essentially nullified the other, thus explaining why the play didn't result in a safety.

"I've never heard of this before, and I don't know if it kind of came up there, or if they have seen this before, I'm not sure, but they said it's not intentional grounding because somebody caught it, even though it's an illegal receiver that caught it, which is a penalty," head coach John Harbaugh said the day after the game. "So, basically, they get rewarded for having a penalty there. That's probably not what they want, by the rules, so we'll see. Maybe it's a loophole in the rule, I'm not sure. It's something they'll probably look at. Because a receiver caught it, you can't call intentional grounding even though it's an illegal receiver, and there's no eligible receiver in the area, which would constitute grounding."

So, why is this call relevant again? Because an extremely similar one just happened.

In the fourth quarter of Thursday's game between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, Browns quarterback Jameis Winston dumped the ball off to avoid taking a crucial sack, with center Ethan Pocic touching the ball before it hit the ground. Just like in Dallas nine weeks ago, the offensive lineman received the controversial penalty while the quarterback didn't receive any.

When Pro Football Talk asked the NFL if the same rule applied this time, the league strangely admitted that the call in Dallas was incorrect, while this one was correct due to one distinction.

“In the Baltimore-Dallas game, there was not judged to be an eligible receiver in the area," the league said. "It was an incorrect application of the rule, as caught by an ineligible player or not, that would be intentional grounding if there was no eligible receiver in the area.”

Based on the video, it looks like the nearest eligible receiver for Cleveland was running back Nick Chubb, who was coming out of the backfield. The ball didn't end up going anywhere near Chubb, but Winston being hit while he threw presumably gave him a bit more leeway. Though Prescott was also hit while he threw, so the situation is overall very perplexing.

While confusing, it's nice to get a touch of clarity from the league at the very least.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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