‘Iffy’ flag sent Big Blue on downward spiral
The Giants secondary had been mocked before the first snap of the season, labeled as inept and inexperienced and incapable of providing reliability at the backend of the defense. But through nearly three quarters, the secondary had stood up a potent Cowboys pass attack, allowing Tony Romo to throw nothing but quick, short passes for small gains, eating up clock, but doing little damage.
With a 10point lead late in the third quarter, the Giants secondary again made a huge third down stop, with cornerback Dominique RodgersCromartie breaking up a pass to Terrance Williams to force Dallas to kick another field goal. And then, a flag flew.
RodgersCromartie was called for pass interference, giving the Cowboys the ball at the twoyard line which set up a touchdown on the next play, cutting the Giants’ lead to 1613 with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.
On such a huge, gamechanging play, the referee must have been certain about the call, right? Not quite. “I asked [the referee] and he said it was iffy,” RodgersCromartie said after the 2726 loss at AT&T Stadium. “He said when I was going for the ball I used his shoulder to jump up, but it is what it is… I think it was a bad call, but at the end of the day I have no control over that.
“Nothing I can do about it. He called it. That’s the call he made. You gotta live with it and play.”
The shock was shared in the Giants’ locker room.
“Gosh, I can’t even believe that was pass interference,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said. “But the refs have a better eye than me. I can’t really get mad because DRC plays so hard and he tried to go for the ball.”
Prior to the questionable call, RodgersCromartie had given Giants fans hope the upset might happen. With less than a minute left in the second quarter, Trumaine McBride knocked the ball from Cole Beasley’s hands, which the speedy RodgersCromartie picked up and sprinted with for a 57yard touchdown return to give the Giants a 106 lead. Prior to leaving the game with a foot injury, superstar receiver Dez Bryant had been held to just five catches for 48 yards, largely covered by RodgersCromartie.
“Just tried to frustrate him, just get in his face, don’t talk to him, just throw a lot of different looks at him,” RodgersCromartie said. “For the most part, we did that.”
For the most part, the Giants did all they needed to. The most part, though, is rarely ever enough.
“58 mins we played good,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “We definitely came out, played hard, but we gotta find a way to finish it, find a way to win.”