The NFL says the Giants were held on this play. Whoops! http://t.co/1vayjIEcjx pic.twitter.com/H2AwPhnOah
— SB Nation NFL (@SBNationNFL) September 17, 2015
The NFL has admitted a pair of officiating mistakes in Sunday's New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game that could have easily altered the outcome, a heart-breaking 27-26 loss by the Giants.
NFL acknowledged to NYG that in Sunday loss, officials blew 2 calls in end zone: DRC didn't commit PI & Daniel Fells was held on last pass.
— Kimberly Jones (@KimJonesSports) September 17, 2015
The pass interference call on Rodgers-Cromartie came on third-and-four from the Giants' 18-yard line with the Giants ahead 16-6 and 4:13 left in the third quarter. It provided at least a four-point swing as Dallas would have had to try a 35-yard field goal instead of getting first-and-goal at the 2-yard line and scoring a touchdown.
"The coaches said they talked to the ref and he said it wasn't pass interference, but I mean that's just a call I have to live with," Rodgers-Cromartie said on Thursday. "He made it at a crucial point in time of the game, it definitely hurt, but you have to live with it.
"That was a critical time in the game. You go from third down to giving them a first down. They go from possibly kicking a field goal to getting seven, so it's definitely a crucial point in the game."
A holding call on the pass to Fells would have washed away Manning's mistake in throwing the pass in the first place. It would have given the Giants a first-and-goal at the Dallas 1-yard line with 1:43 to play. The Giants possibly could have run out the clock from there with simple kneel downs.