Lions Offer Sympathy to Cowboys After Dez Bryant’s Sensational Catch Overturned
In the waning minutes of Sunday’s NFC divisional matchup between the Cowboys and Packers, Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant appeared to make a ridiculous leaping catch to set Dallas up just outside the Green Bay endzone.
Bryant was ruled down at the Packers’ one-yard line, and the Cowboys, trailing 26-21, looked poised to retake the lead with less than 5:00 to play in the game.
But the play was challenged by Packers coach Mike McCarthy and the call was overturned, as the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs and Aaron Rodgers was able to clinch the game with a clock-killing drive on the next possession.
“Bryant [was] going to the ground. By rule he must hold onto it throughout entire process of contacting the ground,’’ NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino tweeted after the game. “He didn’t so it is incomplete.’’
The play immediately drew comparisons to the apparent game-winning touchdown grab by Detroit’s Calvin Johnson against the Chicago Bears in 2010, where the wide receiver caught the ball in the end zone, but was ruled to have dropped the ball before hitting the ground and was therefore an incompletion. The fallout from the ruling earned similar plays the nickname the “Calvin Johnson Rule.’’
Shortly after Bryant’s catch was overturned, the Lions tweeted out the following to offer their condolences to the Cowboys.
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The Cowboys’ season is now over and it will be the Packers who travel to CenturyLink Field next week to face the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC championship.
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