Gene Steratore gives odd explanation after card trick in Cowboys-Raiders

Tom Gatto

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Gene Steratore gives odd explanation after card trick in Cowboys-Raiders image

Gene Steratore did something unconventional in Sunday night's Cowboys-Raiders game. The veteran NFL referee then tried to explain why he did it. Let's say we're still trying to figure out why he did it.

Steratore used a folded card/sheet of paper to help him make an important call on a measurement. Dallas QB Dak Prescott barely converted on a fourth-down play, with the ball reaching the sticks by . . . well, the width of the card.

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Steratore said he didn't need the card to make the call, so why use it at all? That's where Steratore lost us.

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Clear as mud.

At least one man's a fan of Gene, Gene, the measuring machine:

Prescott's drive-saving play led to a go-ahead field goal by Dan Bailey late in the fourth quarter. Dallas held on, barely, for a 20-17 win as Oakland QB Derek Carr fumbled out of the end zone in the final seconds.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.