The Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys are squaring off in an NFC showdown on Thursday Night Football in Week 14. This contest will have major ripple effects on the playoff race, so every call matters in the grand scheme of things.
And in the first quarter, the refs seemed to have missed a clear penalty against Detroit wide receiver Jameson Williams. The Lions ran an end-around play, in which they gave Williams the ball for seven yards. As he ran to the pylon on the right side, he stepped out at the one-yard line before crossing the goal line.
Before it was called short, Williams believed he scored a touchdown and chucked the football into the air. But since he didn't score, it should have been called unsportsmanlike conduct, and that results in a 15-yard penalty.
Instead, the refs didn't call anything, and Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs scored a touchdown on the ensuing play to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.
Refs Missed Jameson Williams Penalty in 1st Quarter vs. Cowboys
Lions beat writer Kory Woods tweeted that he believes the flag wasn't thrown because Williams thought he scored a touchdown, and the refs thought that was his TD celebration.
That certainly couldn't have been the thought from the ref who was right in front of the pylon and didn't see Williams step out. It was another ref that ruled Williams short, but that was a flag that should have been thrown in Dallas's favor.
That would have pushed the Lions' offense back 15 yards, making it more difficult to score. While one penalty doesn't change the entire outcome of a game, this could be something that fans look back at after the game.
Cowboy fans made it clear that they felt it should have drawn a flag from the refs, yet that wasn't what happened. Throughout the first half of the contest, the refs seemed to have missed calls for both teams. In a pivotal contest, having shaky refs is less than ideal, but it appears to be something that Dallas has to overcome.
This incident happened in the first quarter, but it'll be interesting to see if this is a missed call that gets talked about following the game. Under the bright lights in a primetime game, every call is going to get magnified, and this one certainly got the attention of Dallas for the wrong reasons.