Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams made no excuses after he cost his team a chance at a win against the New York Giants on Sunday.
In what was easily the most bone-headed play of Week 1, Williams caught a pass with 12 seconds left in the game and the Cowboys trailing by a point. Knowing Dallas had no timeouts, he still chose to cut back up the field rather than running out of bounds.
“I should have just gone out of bounds and just live to the next play,” Williams said, per Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. “I should have just followed procedures and should have just gone out of bounds. I was just too busy and I’m too much into the game, and it’s just something I should have just followed the rules.”
Had he gotten to the sideline, Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey would have had a chance to kick a 57-yard field goal for the win. He had already hit a 54-yarder earlier in the game.
Believe it or not, Williams said he was thinking when he caught the pass. He just should have been thinking something different.
“I was clearly aware of the time,” he said. “It was just something that I was just thinking of, and it was like a bang-bang moment. And now that I have a chance to just sit back and think on it, I should have just gone out of bounds.”
As you might expect, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was not pleased with Williams’ decision.
“He needed to get out [of bounds] and he was coached to get out [of bounds],” Jones said. “But he thought he was cut off. Those instincts are hard to deter. But make no mistake about it, he was coached to get out of bounds.”
There’s no guarantee Bailey would have made the field goal, but the point is Williams didn’t even give his team a chance. The only thing on his brain after catching the pass should have been getting to the sideline. The veteran receiver has already heard all about his mistake on Twitter, and Dallas fans will probably remind him about it all season long.
