NFL: Refs Made a Costly Mistake in the Cowboys-Lions Game

Everybody is still talking about the bad calls that were made at the end of the Cowboys-Lions game. In response to the game, the league has admitted that the officiating crew made the wrong calls during two critical fourth-quarter plays.

ESPN.com's Adam Schefter reported that the NFL stated that during a fourth quarter play with six minutes left on the clock, the referees should have called Cowboys left guard Ronald Leary for holding/ Leary had hooked defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh during a fourth-and-6 play at the Lions 42 yard line. If the call had been made, the Cowboys would have most likely been forced to punt the ball.

Instead, the Cowboys went on to convert the fourth down. After eight plays, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo hit Terrance Williams with an 8-yard game-winning touchdown pass.

"To lose it also on somewhat of a controversial issue, the one thing I told them is that we're not going to ever make any excuses about, or create any crutches for wins or losses and in this particular case will be no exception," Lions head Jim Caldwell said on Monday according to the Detroit Free Press. "But the fact of the matter is, it's a controversial call and I think that without question it was one that was probably not officiated correctly, in my estimation."

The NFL also noted on Monday that the Lions were burned on another call. During a critical play in the fourth quarter, the Lions should have been awarded the first down when Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens contacted Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The refs called for defensive pass interference, when, according to Dean Blandino, the leagues' vice president of officiating, the call should have been defensive holding.