Raiders irked folded index card determined key first down for Cowboys
Dec
18
12/18/2017 7:07:06 AM
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The Oakland Raiders took exception to a controversial measurement for a key first down in the Dallas Cowboys' game-winning drive in a 20-17 victory Sunday night, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports.
After Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott ran a QB keeper up the middle on fourth-and-1 from Dallas' 39-yard line with about five minutes to play in a tied game, the ball was spotted just short of the 40-yard line.
The chains were called out and referee Gene Steratore folded up an index card to see if there was space between the nose of the football and the pole. There was space and yet Steratore signaled a first down for the Cowboys.
"I don't want to get fined, OK?" Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. "I'm not happy with the way things were done in a lot of different situations throughout the night. They did the best that they could. I had a different viewpoint. I saw air. It was pretty obvious. Again, they do the best they can with a tough job."
Said Raiders linebacker NaVorro Bowman: "There was still space between the ball and the stick."
The Cowboys, buoyed by the first down, marched down and kicked a 19-yard field goal with 1 minute, 47 seconds to play.
"Yeah, I don't know that I've ever seen that one," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "It seems like that's the method they use to decide. One of my concerns was that it looked like the stick was kind of on an angle. We thought that was working against us but eventually they straightened it out, brought the card out and we made it by the thickness of the card. And it was certainly a big play."
Asked why he used the index card, Steratore said: "Didn't use the card to make the final decision. The final decision was made visually. The card was used nothing more than a reaffirmation of what was visually done. My decision was visually done based on the look from the pole."
How did it reaffirm?
"That was already finished," Steratore said. "The ball was touching the pole. I put the card in there and as soon as it touched, it was nothing more than a reaffirmation. The decision was made based on my visual from the top looking down and the ball touching the front of the pole."
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Dec
18
12/18/2017 7:07:06 AM
|More
The Oakland Raiders took exception to a controversial measurement for a key first down in the Dallas Cowboys' game-winning drive in a 20-17 victory Sunday night, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports.
After Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott ran a QB keeper up the middle on fourth-and-1 from Dallas' 39-yard line with about five minutes to play in a tied game, the ball was spotted just short of the 40-yard line.
The chains were called out and referee Gene Steratore folded up an index card to see if there was space between the nose of the football and the pole. There was space and yet Steratore signaled a first down for the Cowboys.
"I don't want to get fined, OK?" Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. "I'm not happy with the way things were done in a lot of different situations throughout the night. They did the best that they could. I had a different viewpoint. I saw air. It was pretty obvious. Again, they do the best they can with a tough job."
Said Raiders linebacker NaVorro Bowman: "There was still space between the ball and the stick."
The Cowboys, buoyed by the first down, marched down and kicked a 19-yard field goal with 1 minute, 47 seconds to play.
"Yeah, I don't know that I've ever seen that one," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "It seems like that's the method they use to decide. One of my concerns was that it looked like the stick was kind of on an angle. We thought that was working against us but eventually they straightened it out, brought the card out and we made it by the thickness of the card. And it was certainly a big play."
Asked why he used the index card, Steratore said: "Didn't use the card to make the final decision. The final decision was made visually. The card was used nothing more than a reaffirmation of what was visually done. My decision was visually done based on the look from the pole."
How did it reaffirm?
"That was already finished," Steratore said. "The ball was touching the pole. I put the card in there and as soon as it touched, it was nothing more than a reaffirmation. The decision was made based on my visual from the top looking down and the ball touching the front of the pole."
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Like us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/Theredzone.org
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