Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio was surprised at how referee Gene Steratore decided a critical fourth-down measurement late in Sunday night’s game against the Cowboys.
The play in question happened with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, when the Cowboys went for it on a fourth-and-one scenario. Dallas elected to run a quarterback sneak with Dak Prescott, and the spot was so close that the chains were brought out to measure. However, even that wasn’t enough to determine whether the result was a first down or turnover on downs, so Steratore elected to place a double-folded index card in between the football and the stick. Steratore deemed that the index card touched the football, so the play was ruled a first down.
Del Rio spoke to reporters after the game, and stated that he believed there was air between the index card and the football, further adding to the controversy surrounding the measurement.
“Never,” Del Rio said, when asked if he had seen an index card used in a measurement during a game, via Dan Hanzus of NFL.com. “Never seen air like that and it somehow got turned into a first down. The air between the ball and the stick. That’s sure short and it goes the other way. Period.”
Steratore explained why he used the index card, and what he saw when he placed it in between the football and the stick, in a pool report released after the game (via Vic Tafur of The Athletic).
Here is the “explanation” for using index card from official Gene Steratore: pic.twitter.com/Y3FQe88NrF
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 18, 2017
Del Rio isn’t alone in feeling that way, as Twitter featured some amazing reactions and memes to the bizarre sequence of events as well. It was a fitting ending to one of the most entertaining Sundays of the 2017 NFL season.
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