Gene Steratore used an extremely unorthodox method to help show whether or not the Dallas Cowboys had gained a crucial first down Sunday night, but it was apparently one that is allowed by the league.
Wtth the Cowboys and Oakland Raiders tied at 17 and five minutes remaining, Dallas had the ball at their own 38 and went for it on 4th-and-1. The spot was right at the mark, and it was even difficult to tell if it was a first down when measured. So Steratore broke out an index card to see if there was space between the nose of the football and the pole used to measure.
It’s the year 2017 and a piece of paper just determined a First Down in the NFL #DALvsOAK pic.twitter.com/pkipgxsQp8
— Christian Hall (@SpazzLion) December 18, 2017
On Monday, former NFL official and supervisor of officials Jim Daopoulos told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that officials are “never allowed to use anything other than their eyes to make that decision” about whether a first down has been made. However, a league representative later told PFT that there is “no prohibition” on using an index card, sheet of paper or another object in the course of making a ruling.
Steratore insisted after the game that he made the determination using nothing but his eyes and only used the index card as a “reaffirmation,” but that didn’t stop Twitter from letting him have it. Even if what he did was allowed by the NFL, it was still incredibly unusual.
