Roughing the passer penalty wipes out fumble recovery for Giants against Cowboys

The Giants lost the right to a turnover in the third quarter of Week 12's matchup against the Cowboys due to a "roughing the passer" call. Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka went for a sack attempt on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, but the passer was able to get the ball out before contact. Kiwanuka brought Romo down with a brutal hold of his neck.

The pass was completed to Cole Beasley, who fumbled the ball and the Giants recovered. The referees called a "roughing the passer" penalty on Kiwanuka and the fumble recovery was voided. The Cowboys then continued to march down the field and scored a touchdown with a Romo pass to Jason Witten, for their second scoring connection of the game.

This play was eerily similar to the the flag called in the Saints Week 11 matchup against the 49ers. Troy Aikman and Joe Buck acknowledged during the telecast that hitting a quarterback from the neck and up would clearly result in a penalty every time.