Why the flag got picked up
Well, now that things have calmed down somewhat I guess I’ll say my piece. I would have done it earlier but was having a tough time coming up with a joke.
So the Detroit/Dallas game was quite the kerfluffle wasn’t it?
Okay, so obviously, as a Giants fan, I am absolutely admitting that I was 100% a Lions fan for this game and I am sad that the Dallas Cowboys have advanced to the Divisional Round. I hate the Cowboys almost as much as I hate the Eagles, it’s like 1A and 1b, followed by the Redskins and then the Giants themselves. I am required by law and moral boundaries to despise the very existence of the Dallas Cowboys and wish them nothing but pain and misery for the remainder of eternity. So I’m a touch biased here, is what I’m saying.
That was probably one of the worst officiated games I’ve seen, and possibly the worst officiated playoff game in years. It was all highlighted by the big Defensive Pass Interference flag on 3rd down that was picked up and made the Lions punt on a critical drive. It was DPI. No matter what argument people want to make, it was DPI. If it wasn’t DPI it was at the very minimum defensive holding, as Hitchens grabbed a handful of jersey on the play before he jumped in the way of Pettigrew without turning around. The lack of turning around is pretty much DPI’s calling card. The play should have been called. If it wasn’t called, it should have been defensive holding, also a auto first down. Many Cowboys fans have pointed out that Pettigrew also touched and possibly grabbed Hitchen’s face mask on the play, like that somehow makes it better. That makes it worse. That’s 3 penalties the refs missed. At worst, it should have been offsetting penalties, replay down. Add onto that the refs completely ignored Dez Bryant rushing onto the field like a madman, something that could have been called for unsportsmanlike conduct. The play was a complete, utter, officiating failure on all counts and at very minimum the Lions should have gotten another down and we should have had at least 1 call on the play instead of nothing.
Since the game Dallas and Detroit fans have been sniping at each other with missed calls being all “Yeah, well they didn’t call that, BUT THEY DIDN’T CALL THIS EITHER, WE HAD IT WORSE” and it’s just petty. That game was abysmally called on both sides. The non-hold on Suh on 4th down was terrible. The running into the punter penalty should have been picked up. Every play basically has holding in it and this one was no exception. I think, ultimately, that Dallas got the calls down the stretch and that’s why Detroit is so mad, but those calls only influence the outcome to a certain degree, they do not decide it. The Lions were bad in the second half and Dallas pulled it together. Sniping at each other about uncalled flags is just kind of pathetic. The game is over. The refs admitted they were wrong. The NFL has admitted failures to both teams. It doesn’t help Detroit at this stage, but there’s nothing you can do but move on. Some Detroit fans need to realize there isn’t this conspiracy, the game is not rigged. If the NFL wanted Dallas to win they’d have done so years ago instead of letting them toil as choke artists for a decade. NFL conspiracy nuts always show up when there is a controversial loss and it’s just depressing to see people so butthurt that they can’t accept their team simply didn’t win that they have to assume there is foul play afoot. It’s funny, you never see anyone cry conspiracy when their team wins, do you? Detroit vs Everybody? I’m almost positive the only people who wanted Dallas to win that game were Dallas fans, and your team has certainly earned somewhat of a rep with Riaola and Suh’s actions in the past two weeks (Also, if the NFL wanted Detroit to lose, why overturn Suh’s suspension?). Also, it’s okay Dallas fans, you don’t have to sit there shoving other uncalled penalties in Detroit’s faces and making it worse for them. Your team won, it’s okay to admit some big calls went in your favor, they don’t need justification because this kind of thing happens to some extent in every game and if you play the “what if” game the world will never know who won anything because all wins will be hollow. Dallas won, Detroit lost, the game was poorly officiated, but it’s done.
The bottom line for this game is that the refs messed up, big time, across the board. They however did not decide the game. Detroit built a lead that it failed to capitalize on and Dallas fought back. It’s okay to be mad, it’s okay to admit your team got the better end of the deal, but let’s stop the petty fighting and move on, the game is over.
Probably the best post on the subject there’s been. I spent pretty much the entire game screaming at the screen, yelling about calls and no-calls. I’m one of those mythical creatures that isn’t a Dallas fan, but was rooting for Dallas to win (I have no stake in the Lions, and a close friend of mine is from Fort Worth) so I’m happy with the outcome, but yeah. The people saying the refs decided the game are really getting my blood pressure up. My response to them is along the same lines as my response to people who complain about “running up the score”. You don’t want to be in a position where a controversial call can take you out of the game? Then PLAY BETTER. Don’t get yourself into that spot.
Seems to be a Detroit thing, really. Can’t make a comeback, can’t hold a lead.
“Can’t make a comeback” Stafford lead the league this year in comebacks. Way to sound dumb bro.
That was a joke, ah say a joke son, you missed it! Flew right by you!
Also, bug-eyed-yelling-Bryant needs to be a thing more often.
This is the only reason I posted. Bug-eyed Bryant is my new cult hero.
people defending the call based on the “facemask” are ignorant hypocrite douchnozzles.
How many times does Dez Bryant do the same thing? Always.
If I recall, you’re actually allowed to have a hand to the face mask if you’re a receiver going for the ball, as long as you don’t grab. I didn’t see a grab, just contact to the facemask. Does not negate the defensive foul even if it’s right.
Yep, it’s legal to stiff-arm a defenders face as long as you don’t grab the mask, and you’re the ball carrier.
You’re missing the important issues, Dave. A Florida player crapped himself mid-game, and there’s been nothing from you. Frankly, I’m disappointed.
2010: Kellen Winslow II scores a touchdown for the Bucs again the Lions. The referees flag Winslow for offensive pass interference, negating the touchdown. Bucs settle for a field goal; eventually lose the game by 3 points. The league goes on to apologise to the Bucs, as Winslow was not guilty of offensive pass interference and the touchdown should have stood. The Bucs go on to miss out on the playoffs with a 10-6 record; if the touchdown would have stood, the Bucs would have gone 11-5, and made the playoffs.
2015: The Lions discover that karma is, in fact, a bitch.
I know this doesn’t bother Dave since he’s from Oregon, but the thing that pissed me off was seeing Christie all buddy-buddy with Jerrah the entire season. Given how much he “claims” to be pro-everything-Jersey, being such a Dallas fan just shows how much of a prick he is. As Jon Stewart put it:
“You lead a state that is half Giants fans and half Eagles fans, and you’re groping the owner of the Dallas fucking Cowboys? Why don’t you just break a copy of Born to Run over the head of a hurricane Sandy victim you backstabbing piece of shit?”
I wouldn’t have minded nearly as much if he wasn’t so vocal about how he “loves” the state of NJ. I wouldn’t have minded if he had only just started now during the post season. But he was in with Jerry on all 4 games against both the giants and eagles.
I saw that Jerry Jones likened having Christie in his suite to sitting next to Nelson Mandela.
I’m not from either state (I’m not even from America) so take this as an outsiders view, but… I would rather he be honest about his sporting allegiances than insult everyone else’s intelligence by pretending to be a fan of someone else just because he’s the Governor. As long as what he does doesn’t influence the teams, I see no harm in him not being a fan of the local team.
Anyone who bases their ideas of politicians based on who they support needs to tear up their voting registration form. And it’s not as if New Jersey based teams are like a small local business who need the support. The support of the governor isn’t going to make or break them.
I don’t mind what he does in his personal time. If he plops down in front of the TV and roots for the cowboys, that’s precisely nobody’s business.
But here he is engaging in very public behavior that is very negative of his home state. No, the Giants won’t fall apart just because the governor is a fan of a rival. But he’s basically shoving a middle finger to his constituents by constantly doing this.
Then again, some would say he’s been shoving a middle finger to his constituents for years now. And that’s all I’m going to say on that matter.
As a Giants fan, the only team I hate more than the Cowboys are the Giants.
No, many people point out Pettigrew pulling Hitchens’ facemask (so much so that his helmet went over his eyes, blinding him) because people like you who don’t understand the NFL rules keep saying irrelevant things like “He didn’t even turn around.” Wrong. He *couldn’t* even turn around. No DPI, and a great choice by the officials to pick up the flag.
The level of whining over this non-event is just astounding. There was no way that pass was going to be completed (except to Hitchens, if Pettigrew hadn’t prevented him from turning around). So Lions fans are really just angry about the fact that their team didn’t get a free first down from the refs. With the amount of whining going on you’d think the refs had overturned a touchdown on the last play of the game, not just failed to give one team 19 unearned yards on a 3rd down with over half of the 4th quarter left to play.
You are doing exactly what I said Dallas fans need to not do: justify it. Your jumping through mental hoops here to try and explain why it wasn’t DPI. It was DPI. It was also a facemask, and holding, and unsportsmanlike conduct. It’s okay, the play did not decide the game, you are right about that. But to say this was a non-issue is stupid, it was a critical 3rd down late in the game, even if there was still time to win otherwise.
You’re acting like Pettigrew had his hands grabbing the facemask during the entire play when that isn’t even close to the truth. Watch the replays. Pettigrew has his hands on the face for about a split second, mostly in reaction to Hitchens GRABBING HIM, then Pettigrew lets go when the ball is still like 10 yards away and Hitchens never even looks back but instead just throws his arms in the way. He absolutely had enough time to try and play the ball.
Pettigrew should have been flagged. But Hitchens should have been flagged, because he held Pettigrew (That you cannot dispute whatsoever) and then got in his face without turning around (he didn’t even try, if he had tried and didn’t quite get his head around it would be different). Then, Dez runs onto the field like an ass and he could have and in my opinion should have been flagged. At very minimum, we should have had offsetting penalties, pretending it was a good non-call is arrogant. It was 3 terrible non-calls in one play.
Dallas won the game because they played better and Detroit needs to accept that, but that play was controversial for a reason
The face Mask was thier and the DPI was there what they should have done was a repeat 3rd down and called it a day they 2 penalties cancelled each other (those both 15yarders, right?) anyways the proper would have been a repeat of down both teams win it gave lions one more shot if not Dallas ball end
And this is coming from guess what a Patriots fan so no I am not Dallas or Detriot
I’m not a fan of either of these teams, and it does suck for lions fans. They have officially tired my team, KC, for most consecutive playoff losses.
However, people forget that there was alot of time left in that game after the flag was picked up. The lions went for it on 4th down after the flag was picked up even though they were in FG range. They also had another possession which ended in a 10yd point by the lions punter, and Stafford fumbled twice one of which was picked up again. On top of that, the lions defense failed to stop the cowboys. Without the flag we’d be talking about the lions breakdown in the 4th quarter. Bad football lost this game, not the refs.
The Lions DID NOT “go for it” on 4th down following the phantom DPI.
It was 4th and 1 from the Dallas 41. They tried to get the Girls to jump offsides. They took a delay of game penalty. On 4th and 6 they delivered the 10-yard shank punt. That led to the game-winning drive.
Love the 2nd last panel lol.
Having been focused on my ‘Boys’s failures for so long, I learned something this past game: fans of teams other than Dallas also think their own teams collapse when it counts. It’s sort of nice to see that happen to other teams because I form a solidarity with them. Not one that survives much since the Cowboys won and I’m stoked about that, but I empathize with their feelings of having their team look like they can win and then fizzle out.
Having been on that end of the stick for so long, it’s rather nice to be on the good end of it for once. The Cowboys got some breaks, I admit it, but I really do believe the better team won this time around. The difference between how the teams decide to respond on 4th down I think is a great example highlighting the difference between them.
Forget what actually happened on the PLAY; what made it so hard to swallow is that the penalty was announced and, I think, marked off, THEN the flag was picked up!
Exactly. That’s what made it so much like a conspiracy. After several seconds of Bryant yelling at the refs, after the announcement, it was then picked up. Never seen that before. I’ve seen flags picked up before, but never after the ref announces it and received so much “pressure” from the team the call went against. Not saying conspiracy, but I think that’s what makes it so easy think that.
Ive heard that they announced in the stadium why the flag was picked up, but it wasn’t on the TV broadcast.
The call was honestly ambiguous. But calling the penalty, moving the chains, letting the offense line up, *then* picking up the flag while Aikman and Buck are talking about how it’s clearly interference, its just shitty. If they wanted to review the play, send it to the damn booth. Picking up the flag was just asking for controversy.
It makes us start to think how much money the NFL would stand to lose if we got a (god forbid) Panthers/Lions NFC championship.
That would be pretty funny truthfully! I would love to see the Panthers win it all just for shits and giggles.
As a Lions fan, yeah. This one hurt. But I don’t blame Dallas for collecting a win off the back of a botched call. However, there’s been a lot of Dallas fans who refuse to accept that fact. When every official that’s laid eyes on that play says “It was holding or DPI and the facemask was incidental, first down Detroit” INCLUDING two of the officials on the field that game, it’s time to accept you got away with one. You don’t know more than NFL referees. Except the one who picked up the flag. Even my dog knows better than him and he’s been licking a couch cushion for 20 minutes straight.
Whether or not that changes the outcome, we’ll never know. But listening to Dallas fans bellyache because their win was tainted has really opened my eyes about why they’re hated by everyone. Boo hoo. You won. My team gets a moral victory and stays home. While I don’t believe “the better team won” in this case (less Dallas won, more Lions OC Lombardi served it up on a plate), I still wish Dallas all the luck in beating Green Bay. Hopefully due to another ridiculous penalty.
They did an analyst on this play and the 5 seconds before all of this happend was pettigrew actually causing hitchens to go of balance grabbing at pettigrew and that the play had two flags cancelled out and that it’s should have been a repeat of the down
Being a Giants fan, I have a similar list except the Giants always jump around every couple of games. I don’t know why but I always liken the Redskins to a puppy trying to be menacing. I have no idea why I think that. Even with RG3s rookie season I couldn’t take them serious for some reason. As far as the Lions Cowgirls game, everything about that DPI was bull. I have never seen a penalty be called and then call back after they moved the ball, get an earload of crap by one sideline with hot head running out onto the field and my sates Governer all buddy buddy with Jerry! But to say this destroyed the Lions chances at winning the game is bull. It was The Lions game to lose and they lost. Could they have won with the DPI call? sure! Yet they still could have lost the game with the call anyway!
I was cheering for Dallas because as a Vikings fan they are not as high on my hate list as the Lions. Plus, I didn’t want the Packers (top of the hate list) to have a gimme game against Carolina. But still, that play was messed up even if I liked the outcome.