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Dallas vs Detroit: An ending marred by controversy

By Alex Al-Kazzaz


The most positive thing from Dallas' 20-19 win over Detroit was Jimmy Johnson's induction to the Cowboys Ring of Honor. It was a historic moment to see Jerry Jones reconcile with Johnson and announce that the man's name will be inscribed on display at AT&T stadium. Long overdue, Johnson's inspiring induction speech ended not in the best way, but the ONLY WAY; "How 'Bout Them Cowboys!"


Dallas finishes the season 8-0 at home. With Philadelphia suffering a loss at home to Arizona, the Cowboys are back on top of the division. Dallas finishes the regular season in Washington while the Eagles are on the road against the New York Giants. Dallas needs the win and New York to win so that the NFC East title finds itself in Dallas.



The game had its fair share of exciting and questionable moments. What happened at the end of that has everyone's interest. With less than 30 seconds left, Detroit's Amon-Ra St. Brown scored a touchdown, and Dan Campbell opted to go for the win with a two-point conversion, which the Lions initially successfully executed. However, it was nullified due to a penalty that the ref announced as an illegal touch due to what was said to be an ineligible receiver. Jared Goff expressed his confidence that the player who was said to have failed to report did report.


Many are convinced that the Lions had the win ripped away from them. The ref's decision to erase Detroit's game-winning two-point conversion is highly controversial. The situation is confusing and overwhelming, but the argument can be made that it shouldn't have come down to that. That would go for both Detroit and Dallas. In other words, either team should have been up by a more significant margin at that point in the game. However, in Dallas's case, getting the win to a controversial officiating decision is a bad look on them.


Speaking of making an argument, it can honestly said that it would have been wiser for Campbell to kick the extra point after the two-point conversion was nullified. Detroit would try it again, and it seemed as though Dallas had sealed it due to the pass being intercepted, but an offside by Micah Parsons granted the Lions a third go, and they failed again. One source insists that Campbell's attempt to go for the two-point conversion after the penalty was reckless, while others praise the head coach for having the courage to go for the win.


(Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)






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