DALLAS — Momentum was about to put on a Dallas Cowboys jersey just before halftime against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium.
The Cowboys had stopped the Chargers at their own 46-yard line and had them backed up fourth-and-20. Instead of just taking a fair catch at the 10-yard line, special teams coach John Fassel called for a punt block.
"The thought process was I think Cowboys fans aren’t the play-it-safe type," Fassel told reporters Monday. "So I was going to give them what they wanted, come after their ass on the punt rush. So, I hope they’re happy with it. We came after him. Kind of the mindset going into the game, we’re going to come after this football."
The road to football Hell is paved with good intentions, and 15-yard automatic first down penalties for roughing the kicker are the bricks used on the highway replete with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Defensive end Azur Kamara was ticketed for the infraction despite a gaggle of Cowboys defenders keying on Chargers punter Ty Long.
Fassel doesn't believe Kamara actually roughed Long; in fact, Fassel believes the undrafted free agent from Kansas may have been hooked into inadvertently committing the foul.
"You can make a great case it was holding, or that the punter hit his own blocker," said Fassel. "But there was a lot of bodies at that pile. So, our goal was to come after him."
It is unknown whether or not this will be one of the 10 plays that the Cowboys will send to the league for further clarification, as each team does on a weekly basis throughout the regular season.
Fassel acknowledges that going after the punter can be risky, but considers it part of the game, even citing the Pittsburgh Steelers' punt block of the Buffalo Bills' Miles Killebrew in Week 1 as evidence of the risk paying off.
Said Fassel: "Last week, Pittsburgh’s up by three points in the fourth quarter and they rush the punt and blocked it and ran it in for the touchdown. So the reward is high, but the risk is high.
The Cowboys edged the Chargers 20-17 with Greg Zuerlein nailing a 56-yard field goal as the clock expired. However, the Chargers were able to attempt a field goal on the penultimate play of the first half after the punt block attempt.
If not for the roughing call, Dallas would have gotten the ball back with enough time and timeouts to add points before halftime — not attempt a trick play that saw running back Ezekiel Elliott fall a yard short on a pitch from receiver CeeDee Lamb.
"Part of our game plan was to come after them with a real aggressive mindset," said Fassel. "Give the Cowboys fans something they were looking for."
Ultimately, Cowboys fans are looking for wins. If Fassel's calls are undercutting the dynamic offense's chances to get the ball back and score points, he could be risking submitting resumes across the league in January.
Do you think the Cowboys are being too aggressive on special teams? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.