Dallas Cowboys fans have no doubt been fuming ever since a pair of tripping calls in Sunday’s 13-9 loss to the New England Patriots hurt the team’s chances at a win at Gillette Stadium. The NFL acknowledging they got the calls wrong may not change the outcome, but it could give the fans some vindication.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill Jr. reported on Monday that the NFL told the Cowboys they got both calls wrong.
The first tripping call was made against Tyron Smith in the first quarter and turned a 2nd-and-13 into a 2nd-and-23. The Cowboys ended up having their punt blocked on the possession, which led to the only touchdown of the game.
What “tripping” looks like when you play in New England pic.twitter.com/cKmvRpcRWz
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 24, 2019
The second tripping call was even more high-profile and came against Travis Frederick on a third down play. The penalty wiped out a third down conversion and put the Cowboys into a 3rd-and-11 situation instead of having a first down. Dallas ended up turning the ball over on downs as they trailed 13-9 in what proved to essentially be the end of the game.
This is the exact opposite of a tripping. He moved out of the way to avoid tripping the defender. This BS has to stop. Please NFL. Stop this. pic.twitter.com/J8Lt0RBKls
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) November 25, 2019
Cowboys defensive lineman DeMarcus Lawrence was among those who vented frustration with the calls.
— DeMarcus Lawrence (@TankLawrence) November 25, 2019
Seeing a close game decided in part by a bad call is not what the league wants, but that’s what happened on Sunday. The defeat dropped Dallas to 6-5.
