LAUNDRY DAY

By Mark Halpern

The Dallas Cowboys hosted the Seattle Seahawks this past Thursday night, which was a big game for both teams to keep pace in the playoff race. Dallas came into this game with the Eagles flying high above them, and the Seahawks are trying to stay in the race in the NFC West.

       This was poised to be a premier showdown but turned into more of a joke by the end of the game than anything, and I will get to that soon. The Dallas offense picked up where it left off and has been working smoothly. Dak has been as good a quarterback as Mahomes for the Chiefs for the past few years. Dak has always had the weapons, just not the right play-caller. Mike McCarthy has proved me wrong that he can call a game. Yes, there were plays I didn’t like, but it’s all translating into wins. Dak had another impressive game, throwing for 299 yards and 3 TDs with no interceptions. Cee Dee Lamb was his favorite target as he caught 12 balls for 116 yards and a TD, and let’s not leave out Pollard, whose role has changed and is working much better being a run second team, giving him more chances not only out of the back, field but out in the open as well. To me, the player who stood out was Jason Ferguson. He was given the most challenging task a second year can be asked of, to replace Dalton Schultz but be like Witten, and he hasn’t disappointed. Ferguson had an impressive six catches for 70 yards and a great TD. We know what the offense can do, and it has been impressive.

    The defense, however, was on cloud nine after DaRon Blands’ record-setting week last week. Well, he got shown up by DK Metcalf all night, and it was a mismatch as Metcalf beat him every time. DK had a huge day, 160 yards and 3 TDs. In the end, Dallas’s defense put up an impressive stand in the 4th quarter and took the lead late in the game, giving the Cowboys a 41-35 victory, moving them to 9-3 on the season.

    Now for the reason for my title. I understand teams are going to make infractions and penalties throughout a game. There were 25 total flags thrown, of which 19 of them stood. There was no favoritism, as both teams were called for some of the pettiest infractions. Were there penalties that could have changed the game for either team? Oh, absolutely, but this referee crew was the WORST I have seen in my 39 years of watching football. The number of penalties per game is outrageous, and I’d like to see the NFL do something about it. People don’t watch the games for the officials but don’t tell them that.