"I've become accustomed to it honestly" - Cowboys QB Dak Prescott takes shot at NFL referees
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is having a great season for the team as they clinched the NFC East. However, the Dallas signal caller took some time to voice his thoughts on the officiating.
Prescott spoke on the performance of the officials during the Cowboys loss to the Arizona Cardinals at home 25-22 in Week 17:
'We'll play against whoever. We'll play against the eleven and the others if we have to. I've become accustomed to it honestly. I don't know if we ever get things that necessarily go our way, but we can't sit there and gripe about it."
The 2016 AP Rookie of the Year went on to say how the team can battle against the referees by not making blunders in carrying out the gameplan:
"You've just got to play the hand you're dealt and try to overcome those things, and don't put yourself in those situations. So, we can do a better job of that alone of trying to not put ourselves in that situation, and keep them out of the game."
The #Cowboys have been assessed the most penalties in the NFL. They have two more than the #Raiders. There is too much variation in how officiating crews enforce the rules. It’s also likely true that teams with reputations are more closely scrutinized and lose benefit of doubt.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy echoed his quarterback's sentiments, raising his concerns around the officiating team and the "timing" of their calls during the Cardinals:
"This crew is weekly high in officiating numbers and so we just tried to really illustrate that all week, but I think the timing of our penalties, for us personally, was something that was a challenge for us to overcome."
This was the third home game for the #Cowboys this season where they had at least 80 penalty yards.
No team in the NFL has more such games than Dallas.
Is Dak Prescott Right About the Officiating?
In this Week 17 contest, Dallas had 10 total penalties to Arizona’s seven. There was a play in which Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence knocked the ball loose from Arizona running back Chase Edmonds in the fourth quarter.
It looked to be a fumble but officials ruled Edmonds down just one play after another was ruled down in the field of play.
CC: @NFL https://t.co/wGp8EDX4rB
The result of the play was the clock not stopping, forcing the Cowboys into using their last timeout. That meant McCarthy couldn’t challenge the fumble caused by Lawrence as it was under three minutes left in the game.
This is the same officiating crew that called the Cowboys’ Week 8 game at Minnesota. Dallas committed 11 penalties for 96 yards in that 20-16 win over the Vikings
Despite the loss, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys sit fourth in the NFC playoff seeding and will play on their home turf in the postseason.