On Sunday, January 4th, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Detroit Lions in what many may call the most controversial game of the year. With just minutes left in the game, which what would probably have been the game winning drive for the Lions, Cowboys defender Anthony Hitchens looked as if he was holding Lions’ receiver Brandon Pettigrew and a holding penalty was called on Dallas, giving the Lions a first down after converting on fourth due to the penalty. However, shortly after the referee picked up the flag and the holding call was reversed, giving Dallas the ball and eventually Dallas scored to win the game.
Many
Lions’ fans and players took it to social media to express their frustration
with the call, with some calling the NFL fixed and others claiming the Cowboys
paid the referees to give them the game. One account on Twitter, “CorruptNFL”
tweeted all team’s current records on upcoming outcomes to the playoffs which
dated back to July 14th, 2014. A lot of football in Colonie High believed this
was authentic, with some stating they’d bet on the Cowboys since they were
predicted to beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. This account’s
credit was lost after the Cowboys were defeated by the Green Bay Packers on
January 11th.
This game was not a blowout and
evidently nowhere close to one. In the last five minutes of the game with the
Cowboys down by five, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo threw a 50 yard pass to
favored receiver Dez Bryant to put them on the one yard line in scoring
position. Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy challenged the catch and the call was
reversed. It looked as if Bryant caught the ball and the catch was complete but
according to the referees the receiver needed to maintain possession while on
the ground for the catch to be considered complete. This caused the Cowboys to
turnover on downs and lose them the game. This call was considered even more
controversial than the one the previous week against the Lions. Even Giants’
receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tweeted that the call was clearly wrong and it was a
catch, these calls and rules by the NFL upset fans more than ever, and with
three weeks before the Super Bowl, they may have to worry about losing viewers.
