Cowboys Couldn't Recover 'Fumble'
The Dallas Cowboys could not have recovered the ball when it was dropped by Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver DeSean Jackson just short of the goal line Monday night.
For those who missed the oh-so-compelling game, Jackson caught a long pass from Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and was cruising into the end zone for a touchdown when he began his celebration too early. He dropped the ball shy of the goal line. The officials signaled touchdown on the field, but that call was overturned by instant replay after a Cowboys' challenge. The ball was placed at the 1-yard line and the Eagles scored anyway.
The unanswered question was whether the Cowboys, if they'd picked up the ball, could have been awarded possession. The answer is no.
The rule covering an erroneous touchdown signal is much like the rule covering the botched incomplete pass call by referee Ed Hochuli during Sunday's Chargers-Broncos game. Just as the ball was dead when it hit the ground because the whistle had been blown when Hochuli called an incomplete pass instead of a fumble by Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, the ball was dead when it hit the ground after Jackson dropped it because of the erroneous touchdown signal by the officials in Dallas. The Eagles automatically retained possession.
When the league changed its rule on down-by-contact calls affecting change of possession on fumbles, it changed the rule only for those calls--not for plays like those in Denver and Dallas the previous two days.
By
Mark Maske
|
September 16, 2008; 8:39 PM ET
| Category:
Cowboys
,
Eagles
,
Officiating
Save & Share:
Previous: Record TV Audience Monday Night |
Next: Falcons Waive Milner
Posted by: OZZIE | September 17, 2008 12:49 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Jackson dropped the ball because he knew more people had Westbrook in their fantasy leagues and wanted him to get the TD. He is a very generous kid...