After Further Review: Jets-Cowboys Officiating

By popular demand, we're again going to have a post after each game that breaks down some of the controversial decisions from the officiating crew in the game.

Penalty Count

Cowboys 6-38 (leading to two Jets first downs)
Jets 5-29 (leading to two Cowboys first downs)

Note: This does not include penalties that are declined or off-set.

Plays where the call was obvious, uncontroversial or not visible on broadcast footage

Jets Penalties

  • Brandin Echols pass interference in the end zone. This was a clear call as Echols looked back late and made plenty of contact before the ball arrived.
  • Mekhi Becton false start. Such penalties were probably inevitable with the change in cadence between Zach Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.
  • Becton with another false start.

Cowboys Penalties

  • DaRon Bland holding on a punt return. Dragged Echols down in the middle of the field, nowhere near the return man.
  • CeeDee Lamb false start - not seen on the broadcast.
  • Terence Steele false start - not seen on the broadcast.
  • Illegal shift. Two players in motion at the same time - not seen on the broadcast.
  • Pass interference on Stephon Gilmore on fourth down. Had his hands all over Allen Lazard before the pass arrived.

Penalties warranting further discussion or explanation

Jets Penalties

  • DJ Reed defensive holding on CeeDee Lamb. This looked really soft but Lamb made a downfield catch anyway so it's a moot point.
  • John Franklin-Myers roughing the passer to negate a third down stop in the red zone. This was a bad call that essentially gave the Cowboys five points. Franklin-Myers was called for a low hit but the contact point was well above the knee on the upper thigh. In any case, he was falling forwards having been dragged down by Terence Steele, which should mitigate the call. Finally, the act of dragging him down by Steele should in itself have been flagged as a hold.
  • Samuel Eguavoen defensive holding and Micheal Clemons roughing the passer on the Cowboys' second touchdown. Although the touchdown was scored anyway, this still had an impact at Dallas opted to take a half-the-distance penalty and then ran in a two-point conversion. The call on Clemons was one of those plays where the pass rusher made a clean hit but landed on top of the quarterback - or "illegal use of gravity" as we like to call it. There's no arguing the penalty on Eguavoen though - he immediately lost leverage on the tight end and grabbed him. Unfortunately another tight end was wide open anyway.
  • Becton holding penalty. This was declined anyway because Wilson threw an interception. In Becton's defense he wasn't beaten on this play - he comfortably repelled the rush by Chauncey Golston. It was only when Wilson rolled out and Becton held on for a beat too long as Golston attained the leverage advantage as a result that this got called - and he did let go almost immediately.
  • Duane Brown holding penalty. This was also declined as Wilson threw incomplete on third down, although it initially looked like a completion. Brown did allow his man to leverage around him but seemed to keep his hands inside and the flag looked soft.

Cowboys Penalties

  • Tyron Smith holding penalty to negate a touchdown run. This was a good call as he had a grip on Quinnen Williams' jersey and dragged him down.
  • Bland pass interference on a fourth down incompletion to Garrett Wilson. The penalty wasn't actually on Wilson, who was covered by another player. Bland grabbed Mecole Hardman, who got behind him, just in front of where Wilson was targeted. This was a clear call and well-spotted since the pass went elsewhere.

Notable no-calls etc

Here were some of the other notable missed calls, replay situations and controversial moments:

  • A key play on the first drive saw Dak Prescott scramble for a third down conversion as the Jets sent a six-man rush. It looked like the blitzers up the middle were taken down and also that Jermaine Johnson was held as Prescott stepped up and ran past him and through his arm tackle.
  • Michael Gallup had a play where his knee was clearly down but then he stretched for the marker and almost made it. This was corrected from upstairs and the spot eventually made it a 4th-and-4.
  • Leighton Vander Esch had a high hit on Ace Carter underneath that could have been flagged for an illegal hit on a defenseless receiver but was ignored.
  • It's possible there was a face mask penalty on Zach Wilson's failed quarterback sneak.
  • Lamb got away with a blatant hold on Echols as the Cowboys picked up a first down on a receiver screen.
  • The Micah Parsons fumble return was correctly overturned. His knee was down and his leg was touching Laken Tomlinson when he gained possession.
  • Allen Lazard's leaping catch that the announcers originally thought was complete was clearly incomplete as his second foot came down well out of bounds.

Let us know what we missed - or misinterpreted - in the comments...