News

NFL Office Intervenes Amid Coin Toss Fiasco In Cowboys-Rams Game

The NFL Officiating department had to get involved following confusion over the coin toss in the Cowboys game against the Rams Sunday.

Dak Prescott was the spokesman for his team during the coin flip and told referee Walt Anderson “we want to kick it.” Anderson asked him again and Prescott responded, “We defer to the second half.” There seemed to be a miscommunication as Anderson said, “Your going to kick.” According to NFL rules, if you say “we’re going to kick,” that means your team kicks off first and you will also have to kick off to begin the second half.

As the game went on Fox Broadcaster Joe Buck communicated to the TV audience what had happened and that Dallas would in fact have to kick off again in the second half. During the break, however, Anderson let both teams know the NFL league office in New York had audio that backed up the Cowboys claim that they wanted to defer to the Rams.

The league office was allowed to intervene, according to the NFL. In the official rule book under Rule 15, Section 3, Article 9, it states, “The replay official and designated members of the officiating department may consult with on-field officials, or conduct a replay review, of game administration issues, including: (a) penalty enforcement; (b) the proper down; (c) spot of a foul; and (d) the game clock.”

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.

NFL Senior Vice President of officiating Al Riveron told ESPN, “It says that we can get involved, replay can, as far as game-administration issues: downs, enforcements, things like that. So, by rule, we can get involved. This is a game-administration issue, not a judgment call, for example. And we have definite audio that refers to deferring.”

SLIDESHOW: 50 GREAT SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019

Reviewing the tape, it seems Anderson might’ve misheard Prescott. “We wanted to set adversity there instead of on the field, so we could play from behind immediately. Just bad use of words by me. We listened to the audio. We got it figured out. Just wasn’t the cleanest coin flip I’ve been a part of,” Prescott said after a 44-21 victory.

The Cowboys controlled the game for all 60 minutes. Prescott finished with 212 yards passing and two touchdowns. Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard ran for a combined 248 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Next week Dallas heads to Philadelphia in a matchup with the Eagles that could decide the NFC East Champion. Both teams are 7-7.

 

Frank DeLorenzo

Recent Posts

Paul George Exits With Knee Injury As 76ers Fall To 2-12 In Loss To Grizzlies

With their big three finally back in action Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered another setback…

2 mins ago

VIDEO: Nike Pays Tribute to Rafael Nadal With 30-Foot Projection In Front of Eiffel Tower

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tny--EWynOQ Nike paid tribute to Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal with a 10-meter-tall animated display…

18 hours ago

VIDEO: Rafael Nadal Gets Emotional Tribute as He Retires From Tennis

https://youtu.be/dtJoJz9hC48 Tennis legend Rafael Nadal bid a heartfelt goodbye to his devoted Spanish fans as he brought…

18 hours ago

VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Fencer Eli Dershwitz Explains The Art Of Fencing

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DQ9Rxhnuer4 U.S. Olympic fencer Eli Dershwitz shed light on the critical skills necessary in fencing…

2 days ago

Two Bears Offensive Linemen Return To Practice, Caleb Williams Desperate For Blocking

Two offensive linemen for the Chicago Bears returned to practice, a massive step in the…

3 days ago

VIDEO: UFC Heavyweight Champion Performs Viral Trump Dance In New York

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s2g9t_33Myw President-elect Donald Trump received a warm welcome from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Jon…

4 days ago