Referee Gene Steratore shouldn’t have used a note card to decide whether or not the Dallas Cowboys got a crucial first down against the Oakland Raiders in Week 15. On Thursday, the NFL’s head of officiating Al Riveron said referees have been instructed not to measure spots that way again.
NFL won’t let refs use cards to measure 1st downs after Raiders-Cowboys controversy
Gene Steratore didn’t break any rules when he measured with a card, but Al Riveron doesn’t want him to do it again.
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“When he did bring out the piece of paper, that was very, very unusual,” Riveron said, via Pro Football Talk. “The last time I saw it done was about four or five years ago, also in an NFL game, and that’s not the norm. Gene made the decision strictly on visual affirmation that the ball made the line to gain. I will advise them not to use it again. I’ve already done that.”
With less than six remaining in a 17-17 game, the Cowboys converted a fourth-and-1 on their own 39 via a Dak Prescott quarterback sneak that barely made the line to gain after a razor-close measurement. Steratore used a note card to decide that it was a first down, and the Cowboys used the fresh set of downs to drive into Raiders territory and kick a field goal that proved to be the game-winner.
It was such a silly scenario that Steratore even looked amused as he signaled for a first down:
With the 20-17 victory, the Cowboys’ slim playoff hopes remained alive while the Raiders were all but eliminated from the postseason.
Four years ago, a similar situation happened in a 14-6 win for the Baltimore Ravens over the Cleveland Browns.
“Though it is very unusual to see the referee use a card to aid in the measurement, there is nothing that prohibits it in the rules,” NFL spokesman Michael Signora told the Akron Beacon Journal.
While it’s still not against the rules to use a card, Riveron would prefer that Steratore is the last one to do so.
The Dallas first down was the worst call in the NFL last week
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