Did Dallas Cowboys have it easy? NFL refs miss blatant penalty against Washington
In Week 16, the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Washington Football Team on Sunday Night Football. Dallas, who entered the contest after already having clinched the NFC East, won the game 56-14. However, there was something else that stood out from the Sunday Night matchup: a missed call.
On a third down and six from the Washington 19-yard line on a first quarter drive, the officials missed a clear penalty on Cowboys center Tyler Biadasz.
Terry McAulay, a former NFL official of 20 years, pointed out the error in the telecast as the on-air rules analyst for Sunday Night Football. McAulay mentioned the mistake in a tweet:
It was noted this week that this crew calls by far the fewest fouls over the last 8 years. There is a reason. Ineligible downfield was not called on this play. https://t.co/L55Wb8L1VR
According to the league's rulebook, an offensive lineman is not allowed to go more than one yard over the line of scrimmage on a passing play. The exception is if the offensive lineman is presently blocking a defensive player who began contact inside the distance permitted.
In this case, Biadasz failed to make contact with a defensive player. Here, he is an ineligible man downfield, which should have meant a five-yard penalty on the Cowboys.
is the center not standing TWO YARDS PAST THE LINE TO GAIN on a 3rd & 6 pass or am I insane
wtf I guess anything goes for Dallas
NFL refs suck https://t.co/jSK84p7QYU
Out of his 20 years as an NFL official, McAulay served as a referee for 17 years from 1998 to 2017, holding the positions of side judge and field judge.
He led the officiating crew in three Super Bowls (39, 43, and 48) and refereed 15 more playoff games, nine of which were conference championship games.
During Sunday's game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Football Team, there were four penalties, three of which were on Dallas.
The officiating crew, led by referee Bill Vinovich, have averaged 9.43 penalties a game this year. So far in Week 16 of the 2021 season, there have been 154 penalties, and 84 of those have been called on the road team while the remaining 70 were on the home team.
What happened after the missed call on the Cowboys?
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott completed a 10-yard pass to Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper on the play with the missed call on Biadasz. On the following play, Prescott found tight end Dalton Schultz for a nine-yard touchdown catch to put the Cowboys up 14-0 after an extra point by kicker Greg Zuerlein.