There isn't much more A'Shawn Robinson could have done.
The big Lions rookie defensive tackle was penalized for a personal foul for tackling Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in the third quarter of Monday's game at AT&T Stadium.
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The 6-4 320-pound former Alabama star met the 6-foot, 225-pound rusher at the line of scrimmage. Elliott kept his legs churning and Robinson twisted him around as Elliott's feet came off the ground. The two then fell to the turf.
Today's @NFL this is a 15 yard penalty.
— Austin Barbour (@Austin_Barbour) December 27, 2016
Remind me to never upset @AshawnRobinson for Detroit. He's scary... pic.twitter.com/XmN8ff133j
The explanation from referee John Hussey wasn't exactly correct. Hussey said Robinson's penalty was after the play, which was wrong, and that Robinson was flagged for "unnecessarily throwing a player to the ground" — or what others might call tackling.
Even ESPN announcers Jon Gruden and Sean McDonough took issue with the call.
"I didn't see anything there, that's just good defense." - Gruden
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) December 27, 2016
"That's a joke. That's terrible." - Sean pic.twitter.com/vYGPRoKYQo
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It was a costly penalty. Elliott was stopped for no gain, but instead of having second-and-10 at the Lions 40, Dallas had a first down at the Detroit 25-yard line. The Cowboys scored two plays later on a trick play as wide receiver Dez Bryant threw a 10-yard pass to tight end Jason Witten to give the Cowboys a 35-21 lead that they took into the fourth quarter.
.@DezBryant on the reverse...
— NFL (@NFL) December 27, 2016
And he tosses it to @JasonWitten for the TD!
Just amazing. #DETvsDAL https://t.co/ML8rGqygku
The Cowboys added to their lead early in the fourth quarter with Dak Prescott's second touchdown pass to Bryant.