Jerry Jones was not at all happy following his Dallas Cowboys’ 36-33 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at home on Thanksgiving. The Cowboys owner was especially unhappy with all the penalties called in the game.
The Cowboys were penalized 14 times for 166 yards, which is a franchise record. The Raiders were also penalized 14 times, but for 110 yards. The total penalties called in the game produced an anomaly.
Raiders-Cowboys was the first NFL game in 18 years in which both teams had 14+ penalties and 100+ penalty yards.
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) November 26, 2021
Like all the fans watching who did not enjoy the officials’ version of “flag” football, Jones didn’t like all the infractions that were called. He said the end result was a game of “throw up ball” that is a poor product.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on 28 combined penalties today in loss to Raiders: “I call it ‘throw up ball.’ …This will arguably be the most-watched game other than the Super Bowl. I hate that it got down to just throwing the ball up and getting the penalties to get you big plays.”
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) November 26, 2021
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was similarly frustrated with the officiating.
#Cowboys coach McCarthy and Jerry Jones are both LIVID about the officiating. 'We thought it might come down to a (bad-call) penalty,' said McCarthy.
— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) November 26, 2021
The “throw-up ball” that Jones described likely relates to the way Derek Carr just started throwing up balls at cornerbacks like Anthony Brown in hopes of drawing a call. Brown was penalized four times for pass interference, so the strategy worked. Maybe the Cowboys should have done more of the same.
Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
