The ending of the Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers matchup sparked up controversy with Dallas fans going bonkers over the officials. The play caused a lot more confusion on the actions of the official who was stopping Dak Prescott from making the final play. However, later it was revealed that the officiating was done by the book, and no mistake was committed by the referee.
Yet it left the Cowboys fans broken-hearted. The play in question was the last drive of the game with 14 seconds left in the clock. Prescott ran for a first down on a 2nd and 1. He scrambled past and slid down to the ground with just nine seconds left in the game and counting. But as the center Tyler Biadasz was about to snap the ball, the referee intervened and cost those few valuable seconds of the game, denying Dak Prescott his last snap.
Was the official executing the play properly?
The ending to the game was most certainly bizarre, but referee Alex Kemp explained that the execution of the officials was spot on and by the rules. Further, Kemp answers about the collision of the official with the quarterback and the center and if it changes anything. “No,” Kemp said. “He collided with the players as he was setting the ball because he was moving it to the proper spot.”
And as per the rules mentioned in the NFL’s officiating rule book, “A Dead Ball is Ready for Play while the 40-second Play Clock is running when the ball is placed down by an official at the spot where the ball will next be put in play, or when the Referee signals for the 25-second Play Clock to start.” Which justifies the actions taken by the umpire.
Here's how the #49ers–#Cowboys game ended: Per NFL rules, Dak can't spot the ball on his own and snap it. Ball must be spotted by the ref. By the time that happened, clock reached triple zeroes. pic.twitter.com/NY9H7IHmsD
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 17, 2022
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Dak Prescott was spotting the ball by himself
As the ball needs to be set up by the umpire himself before calling the snap. But in the case of Dallas, Dak Prescott was the one deciding on the position of the ball and where to spike it. The umpire actually was trying to move the ball back one foot or so when the time ran out.
Furthermore, as per Kemp, the referee was at a reasonable distance from the play for those who thought why he was so far away. And yet he had to come running towards the ball before a snap could have been called by Dak Prescott.
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Pool report from interview with referee Alex Kemp pic.twitter.com/khZngJroQx
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 17, 2022
“We’re trailing the play, keeping a proper distance so that we can identify fouls, if there are any,” Kemp said. “Once the play is over, the umpire immediately goes to spot the ball, and that’s what he did.”
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And within those few seconds of absolute mess, the time ran out so did the hopes of the Cowboys of making the Divisional Round.
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