Controversy erupts over NFL star's bizarre tackle on teammate
If the NFL is going to go out of its way to protect quarterbacks, sometimes it’s going to work both ways.
We’ve seen plenty of questionable calls on hits by defensive players help offences, and on Saturday night we saw the very rare call that was designed to protect the quarterback yet hurt an offence.
The Dallas Cowboys trailed 20-7 late in the first half and finally got a drive going into Rams territory.
On a third down, Dak Prescott scrambled out of the pass rush but stopped. The whistle was blown very quickly on a rare “in the grasp” call by officials.
The play was dead, the Rams were given a sack and the Cowboys punted on fourth down.
The replay made it look worse. Cowboys offensive lineman La’el Collins had actually instinctively grabbed Prescott to usher him away from the rush.
The Rams had hands on Prescott but nothing that approached a sack. The only person that had Prescott in the grasp was his teammate.
It was simply a bad call.
If Dak was “In the grasp” then I was sacked 1,879,987 times
— David Carr (@DCarr8) January 13, 2019
THAT WASN'T IN THE GRASP. AWFUL CALL. DAK WAS LOOSE AND ABOUT TO MAKE A PLAY. REFS HAVE JUST TAKEN THIS AWAY FROM DALLAS.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 13, 2019
Here's the refs calling a Dak sack because the #Cowboys had their own QB in the grasp. Stunningly bad. https://t.co/x0BOoZ03Qn
— mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) January 13, 2019
Is this “in the grasp”? pic.twitter.com/rhmSrPwnhg
— Levi Weaver (@ThreeTwoEephus) January 13, 2019
The penalty on Byron Jones.
The in the grasp whistle.
Two horrific calls by tonight's officials.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) January 13, 2019
In the grasp? More like two-hand touch. Bizarre. And not the right call. #CowboysNation #FinishThisFight #DALvsLAR @fishsports pic.twitter.com/Y9hA3xlwyE
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) January 13, 2019
Is there a rule about being in the grasp of your teammate? #Cowboys #NFC
— Patrick (@Patrick7680) January 13, 2019
In the grasp of La'el Collins maybe… pic.twitter.com/t8t0ZcOubD
— Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) January 13, 2019
“‘In the grasp’ means that one opponent has you in the grasp, with a second opponent bearing down on you and you look to protect the quarterback,” Fox officiating analyst Mike Pereira said.
“On this one, I don’t quite see that.”
It wasn’t the first questionable call that went against the Cowboys.
Dallas’ defence thought it got a third-down stop, but there was a penalty. It was a shaky illegal hands to the face call on Cowboys defensive back Byron Jones, and an automatic first down came with it on third-and-14.
Todd Gurley scored a 35-yard touchdown two plays later to give the Rams a 20-7 lead, and an eventual 30-22 win.
The Cowboys had enough issues against a talented Rams team on Saturday night, and they didn’t get a lot of help from the officials.