Dallas Cowboys: Mike McCarthy rips NFL officiating without saying a word

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy criticized the officiating from Thursday’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders by refusing to make an official comment. The Cowboys fell to the Raiders 36-33 in overtime while setting a new team record for penalty yardage in a game.

Mike McCarthy upset with officiating

“Twenty-eight penalties,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said after the game. “‘I don’t really know what the hell you want me to say. Write whatever you want. I’m all for it.”

The officiating crew for Thursday’s game called a total of 28 penalties in the game, 14 on each team. The total penalty count was the highest ever in a Cowboys’ game. The Cowboys themselves racked up 166 penalty yards, a new record as well for the team. The previous record was 161 yards against Washington in 1970.

Adding to the fan reactions to how many penalties were called was a particularly funny stat at the expense of the winless Detroit Lions. There were more penalty yards in the Cowboys versus Raiders game than the Lions gained total against the Chicago Bears earlier in the day.

While McCarthy didn’t have any words for the officiating, a couple of Cowboys stars were vocal about their issues with the referees.

“I feel bad for my guys cause I know some of the penalties were 50/50; some would say really bad calls,” rookie Micah Parsons said. “It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, football is an aggressive game and you’re gonna attack the ball, and you’re gonna play through the ball, and you’re gonna play the defender. End of the day, it’s gonna come to a point and time where when are you going to let us truly play?”

“It’s obvious. They definitely affected the game,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “But we’ve got to self-reflect and keep the officials out of the game. One way or another, we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be disciplined. We’ve got to focus on controlling what we can control. Obviously, they’re going to happen. Feel like we’re targeted a little bit, but in the same instance, yeah, we’ve got to be better on our end to try to keep them out of the game.”

Jerry Jones on “throw up ball”

“I call it ‘throw up ball,’” Jones said of the numerous pass interference calls after the loss. “This will arguably be the most-watched game other than the Super Bowl. I hate that it got down to just throwing the ball up and getting the penalties to get you big plays.”

Cowboys defensive back Anthony Brown had a rough night with penalties as he was called for four pass interference penalties. The final one he received was a tough break, as the play appeared to show no contact with the receiver.

However, because Brown did not turn his head around and was face-guarding on the play, pass interference was called and set up the Raiders for a very makeable field goal.

The play drew criticism from Cowboys fans and players alike, as the game already featured both teams getting called for numerous penalties. Both the Cowboys and the Raiders received 14 penalties each.

Rookie cornerback Kelvin Joseph was ejected earlier in the game alongside Las Vegas Raiders safety Roderic Teamer. Joseph expressed how upset he was with the late pass interference call while not on the field as he had to finish the game in the locker room.

With access to his social media, Joseph had a simple message for the officials who ejected him after another pass interference call that likely ended the game.

“Bad call ref.”