Cowboys vs. Giants: NFL Refs Under the Scanner for Missing 2 ‘Obvious’ Calls on Dallas TD Play

This season is proving to be extremely difficult for the referees. Not a single game has passed since Week 1 without referee calls being scrutinized. During tonight’s Week 4 clash between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants, referees seemingly missed two penalties that may have cost directly the Dallas Cowboys scoring a TD.

Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle received a pass and made a break for the end zone. Although it appeared like a transparent score, replays posted online led to questions about penalty flags.

The first call that was missed was committed by a Cowboys OL. It looked like an apparent holding violation where Dowdle was spotted holding a New York Giants defender to limit the opponent from pursuing the ball carrier.

Coming to the second—it was a probable block in the back—where a Dallas player apparently shoved a New York defender—which helped Dowdle all the way to the end zone.

In spite of these two potential fouls, the NFL referees did not throw a flag. Yes, they did signal for a penalty, however, they picked up almost immediately which let the touchdown stand.  

Naturally, the Giants sideline was furious! Especially, Head Coach Brian Daboll, who looked angry at the referees’ decision. So, were the referees wrong?

Well, looking at it from a neutral point of view, the arguments are valid that the NFL referees indeed missed at least one of these questionable calls.

As per replays, clear contact as a result of holding or illegal blocking was evident. Sadly, either the officials overlooked the fouls or might have decided that the contacts were not severe enough to reverse a TD.

As the clips subsequently went viral on X, the reactions from the New York Giants fans were explosive.

A fan cheekily suggested that the Cowboys “suck” so much that the league had to assist them with the missed calls:

Another fan pointed out that there were at least three holding calls that were missed by the refs:

Adding more drama to the Cowboys versus Giants was another controversial call earlier in the Week 4 clash.

Facemask call on Giants’ Bellinger

The first time NFL referees were on the microscope in today’s game was when the New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger was flagged for an offensive facemask penalty during a Giants drive. 

But the replays showed otherwise. It was Bellinger whose facemask was grabbed by Dallas‘ DB, DeMarvion Overshown.

The controversy took place when the officials called the penalty on Bellinger instead of Overshown for the clear infraction. It derailed the Giants’ drive and pushed them to settle for a field goal.