The Dallas Cowboys’ comeback bid was thwarted Sunday in part because of a brutal break late in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys found themselves down three points with just under three minutes left in regulation against the Arizona Cardinals. They needed to force a three-and-out to even have a chance of getting the ball back, but things went wrong on first down. Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds took the handoff and gained a couple yards, then had to stop awkwardly to make sure he didn’t go out of bounds and stop the clock.
Replays showed that Edmonds may have been losing the ball as he was tackled and before his knee was down. However, Edmonds was ruled down on the field. The play happened just outside of two minutes, so it could not be automatically reviewed. To top it off, the Cowboys could not challenge, as they had exhausted their timeouts already.
https://twitter.com/IHaveFourBalls/status/1477799450252918791
Should this have been ruled a fumble?
https://t.co/xjZ1l6v5Mx— PFF (@PFF) January 3, 2022
The Cowboys definitely made a clear recovery, so the review would have been very interesting if it had happened. The Cardinals were definitely aware that something controversial had happened, as they made sure to snap the ball before the two minute warning to ensure that there would be no review.
These situations have not been kind to the Cowboys this season. They’ll look at this with frustration, and that will be made worse by the fact that the play should not have happened to begin with.
