EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — After the Cowboys' 20-15 win over the New York Giants on Thursday, a Dallas lineman cried favoritism when it came to penalty calls.
In the locker room after the game, second-year tackle Tyler Smith was asked about what changed offensively for Dallas in the second half.
"Obviously, we had some penalties early on," Smith said, referring to the nine first-half penalties against the Cowboys. "I'm not even gonna talk about that 'cause Roger Goodell got them protected like John Gotti, but, you know, it's whatever."
Those nine penalties cost the Cowboys 70 yards in the first half, while the Giants received three calls for a total of 25 yards.
It was nearly impossible for fans to ignore the sheer amount of flags being thrown.
But, not all of the referees' calls were against the Cowboys. In fact, in the first quarter, the referees called a face mask against the Giants tight end, Daniel Bellinger, when Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown was the perpetrator.
After the half, the flags seemingly stopped flying for both teams. Dallas finished with 11 penalties for 89 yards, and New York finished with just four penalties for 35.
Tyler Smith said the penalties come second, though.
"We just gotta play our best ball. We gotta focus on what we do," Smith said. "We cannot shoot ourselves in the foot."
