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The Dallas Cowboys head into halftime trailing the Patriots 14-10 after an insane goal-line stand by New England right before intermission.
Just before the two-minute warning, the Cowboys had first and goal at the New England 1-yard-line. After consecutive runs by Ezekiel Elliott were stuffed for no gain, Dallas tried to sneak it with Dak Prescott on third down.
It looked like Dak got in–but the officials disagreed. The Cowboys didn’t challenge the play, and instead tried another quarterback sneak on fourth down.
This time, the refs said Dak scored, but a subsequent review concluded he fumbled the ball before breaking the plane. As a result, the Patriots maintained their lead and took over possession.
The entire sequence was rather wild, especially considering the Cowboys appeared to get screwed out of six points on third down.
That’s a fantastic play by Bentley, and the ball was out … Looked like Dak made it easily on third down, but the video may not have been there to support it.
Huge break for New England.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 17, 2021
The play before was touchdown
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) October 17, 2021
This game is drunk
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) October 17, 2021
The first one was a TD
— Marcus Spears (@mspears96) October 17, 2021
Dak scored on third down and has been robbed for the second time this season. This is garbage.
— Will Cain (@willcain) October 17, 2021
How did the officials rule that Dak Prescott did not break the plane?! He lost control of the football only after that moment!
— Under Zone X (Frisco)/Phoenix Check/Stick Slasher2 (@mattyfbrown) October 17, 2021
That’s just an unbelievable sequence of 4 play calls.
— Jamey Newberg (@NewbergReport) October 17, 2021
If New England hangs on in the second half, we can point to this goal-line stand as a major factor. The Patriots also intercepted a Prescott pass in the end zone earlier in the game.
On the offensive side of the ball, New England rookie quarterback Mac Jones has been as efficient as possible, completing all seven passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Damien Harris has also rushed for 34 yards and a score.
The Cowboys have moved the ball all game, but have only 10 points to show for it. We’ll see if they can break through with their high-octane offense in the final 30 minutes.
Cowboys-Patriots can be seen on CBS.