Dak Prescott has never seen anything like George Pickens OPI call

The The Dallas Cowboys bit the bullet in a 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football, a loss that seriously jeopardized their playoff hopes.

Quarterback Dak Prescott went full throttle, throwing for a season-high 376 passing yards, completing 31 of 47 attempts with one touchdown and two interceptions, along with three rushes for 14 yards. He also threw a two-point conversion and was involved in a fumble that Dallas recovered. Despite the strong performance, the Cowboys were unable to overcome a combination of turnovers, penalties and a late-game officiating controversy.

In the closing moments of the fourth quarter, with Dallas trailing by seven, the Cowboys drove into the red zone with a chance to cut the deficit to three. On a crucial pass attempt to tackle Jake Ferguson, there was contact between Ferguson and Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone, and the officials threw a flag.

After a brief discussion, the crew surprisingly named offensive pass interference on Ferguson. The penalty pushed the Cowboys back, forcing the team to settle for a field goal on fourth down and putting the score in the hands of the defense. Dallas’ defense couldn’t hold on, giving up a touchdown and eventually losing 44-30.

Prescott expressed his surprise after the game.

“Am I getting punished for talking about this?… I’m sorry, that was bad,” he said when asked about the call. “I’ve got to watch the film, maybe I can see it from their point of view. I know I talked to the ref afterwards, he (Ferguson) aggressively pulled out. I’ve never seen a call like that.”

Replays suggested Ferguson’s swim move, not Anzalone’s hit, drew the flag. Rules analyst and former NFL referee Terry McCauley spoke out, saying the swim move was legal and the penalty appeared to have been blown. Not the deciding factor, but the call came at a time when the Cowboys needed the momentum the most.

Dallas star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb left the game with a concussion in the third quarter after totaling 121 yards on six catches, and that didn’t help their cause. In Lamb’s absence, Ryan Flournoy stepped up, recording a career-high 115 receiving yards, and George Pickens added 37 more yards.

Late in the fourth quarter, Prescott spread the ball among eight targets, connecting with Ferguson for a touchdown and two-point conversion to cut the deficit to three. Outgaining the Lions 417 yards to 408 and holding possession for 31:23, the Cowboys still paid the price for missed chances in the red zone.

Dallas limited Detroit’s Jahmir Gibbs to 43 rushing yards, but couldn’t stop him from scoring three touchdowns and adding 77 receiving yards. David Montgomery sprinted for another 60 yards and a touchdown, helping the Lions rush for 109 total yards. Jared Goff was efficient, completing 73.5% of his passes for 309 yards and a 111.0 passer rating. Moreover, Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. The Browns combined for 188 receiving yards.

The loss dropped the Cowboys to 6-6-1, reduce their playoff likelihood from 23% to only 9%. Even if they win their final four regular season games against the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders and New York Giants, Dallas would still need the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Lions to sneak into the postseason.

Next, the Cowboys will host Minnesota in Week 15. A win is imperative, but the path to the playoffs is now extremely narrow.