Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy gifts Giants free points with clear challenge miss

Dan Bernstein

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Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy gifts Giants free points with clear challenge miss image

One look at a video replay made it obvious Giants receiver Dante Pettis did not catch a third-down pass midway through the fourth quarter.

But Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy allowed the on-the-field ruling of a completion to go unchallenged, allowing New York a key 50-yard field goal that would have been a punt if the play was reversed. The decision not to ask for a review likely cost his team the season.

The Giants' field goal gave them a 23-19 lead with 6:32 remaining. Andy Dalton forced a throw to the end zone on the ensuing drive that was intercepted. If Dallas had only been down one point, as it should have been, it would have been able to try a go-ahead field goal rather than make its injured quarterback look for a touchdown.

"He uses the ground to complete the catch. He does not have complete control before the ball gets to the ground," Fox TV analyst Mike Pereira said of the Pettis play. "No question in my mind that if Dallas had challenged this, it would've been changed to an incomplete pass."

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The Cowboys needed a win over the Giants to remain in playoff contention.

Dallas fans are used to questionable decisions in key games. Last year, for example, then-coach Jason Garrett kept top receiver Amari Cooper off the field for the biggest play of the season.

But that doesn't make it much easier for Cowboys supporters to stomach the miscues.

Dan Bernstein