ARLINGTON, Texas — Nearly eight years after they watched a flag get picked up for pass interference in the playoffs, the Detroit Lions found themselves on the wrong end of another officiating controversy against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
Cornerback Trevon Diggs intercepted a Jared Goff pass early in the third quarter of the Lions’ 24-6 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday.
Television replays appeared to show the ball hit the ground as Diggs dove to make the play, and CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore, a former NFL official, said he thought the play should have been ruled an incomplete pass on replay.
“It appeared to me that his arms opened up, the football’s in between, I don’t think it’s firm control,” Steratore said during the broadcast. “I think it definitely could have been overturned had they reviewed that further.”
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All scoring plays and turnovers are automatically reviewed in the NFL, but Steratore’s comments — and suggestions by the CBS broadcast team of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo that the play had not been reviewed during the change-of-possession commercial break — sparked outrage from Lions fans.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said an on-field official told him the call had been “verified,” and an NFL spokesperson told the Free Press via email the play was reviewed at NFL headquarters in New York.
“They just said that he had both hands and possession of it and it had been verified,” Campbell said.
Asked if that meant he had no recourse to ask for a further examination of the play, Campbell said, “Yes. They said that he had possession.” Had the play been ruled an incomplete pass, the Lions would have retained possession and faced third-and-2 at their own 49-yard line.
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Instead, Dallas, trailing 6-3, took over at its own 18-yard line and marched 82 yards in seven plays for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Lions (1-5) turned the ball over on four of their final five possessions and the Cowboys added two more fourth-quarter TDs for the win.
Goff, who fumbled twice and threw two interceptions in the game, insisted he did not see replays of Diggs’ interception but said he needs to take better care of the ball overall.
“I was trying to kind of throw a back shoulder and just it wasn’t a good throw,” Goff said. “The kid made a good play and wish I would have had it back.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.