Ryan Flournoy considers it the most controversial call of his career.
With 4:45 remaining in the first quarter after the Cowboys forced a three-and-out, the wide receiver was flagged for roughing the punter. Flournoy was adamant that he made contact with the ball, which would have negated the penalty.
He signaled to the sideline that he had tipped it, but Cowboys coaches didn’t challenge the call, even following an additional replay that appeared to reveal Flournoy made contact. The Fox broadcast later showed an enhanced replay that proved Flournoy tipped it.
The missed call resulted in a first down for the Eagles that turned into a touchdown drive three minutes later after quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed seven yards into the endzone for a 14-0 lead. And while the Cowboys rallied to beat the Eagles 24-21, thanks to 24 unanswered points and a game-winning field goal, Flournoy is still sure he made contact with the ball.
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“I was super confident I tipped it because I did,” Flournoy said. “I just asked them to challenge it, and they said it was too close to call.”
A referee pool report after the game confirmed the call might have been different had the Cowboys challenged.
“The defense, the Dallas Cowboys, could have challenged it at any point, and we would have stopped to look at it,” NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth said. “And by stopping to look at it, we probably would have gotten an enhanced shot from the broadcast that would show that the ball was indeed tipped.”
Butterworth also said that if an enhanced replay had been available sooner, then there likely wouldn’t have been a roughing call.
But it was too late.
“I think a play or two later, TV showed an enhanced shot, which they can do,” Butterworth said. “We don’t have access to that enhanced shot until they show it.”
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said they decided not to challenge the call because coaches didn’t have access to a replay with a clear view.
The play was drawn up for Flournoy to block the ball. He was “so close,” and he was penalized for it.
“In the moment, I was mad because I was doing my job,” Flournoy said. ”I tipped it.”
And while Flournoy was frustrated, he was reassured by teammates that there was a lot of game left to play, even when down 21-0. Flournoy said it’s part of the reason they played together after that and eventually won.
“You can’t be too high, you can’t be too low,” Flournoy said. “You just gotta stay neutral, and I feel like that’s what I did after that negative play.”
But if the Cowboys hadn’t found a way to overcome the Eagles, the missed call could have been a bigger factor.
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