Stop bellyaching, 3 times referees nearly cost LA Rams the game

Holding on Samson Ebukam

Okay. That one didn’t convince you yet?  Well here’s another. In this one, Dak Prescott once more is back to pass, and the Rams rush five defenders. That means that the Cowboys are going to face pressure on the quarterback. To counter the quick rush, the Cowboys begin the pass play with a  fake to the running back up the middle.

While that forces defensive linemen to remain engaged with their blocker in order to shed them to make a tackle, the outside linebacker Samson Ebukam has already committed to rush the Prescott with a beautiful inside move as shown at the two-second mark of this five-second segment.  With nothing between him and the quarterback, it should be a sure-fire sack.

Holding? No call

The Cowboys offensive line seems to know that the referees won’t throw a flag, so veteran offensive tackle slips a right arm in front of Ebukam, literally around his body, and holds him long enough to force his trajectory beyond Prescott.  It’s a veteran move. It happens whenever the offensive linemen understand that referees are not calling holding in the game.

Four seconds into the play, Dak Prescott has shuffled away. Ebukam is off balance, and the passing play continues. Another hold by a Cowboy’s offensive lineman to avoid a sure sack. And why not? The referees were not calling holding on the Cowboys offensive linemen all game.  But the next one was not a matter of wink-wink, we’ll let you have this one. This was a clear and direct violation of many rules put into place to protect the quarterback from needless injury.