Cowboys committed penalties that killed
There is no question that penalties killed the Cowboys. Here is a summary:
Penalty #1, 2nd Quarter (13:33)
Situation: Dallas driving in New England territory, facing a 2nd-and-5 from the Patriot 21.
Penalty: Kyle Kosier, holding.
Result: Dallas then faced a 2nd-and-15 and could not convert. The Cowboys settled for a field goal.
Penalty #2, 2nd Quarter (11:02)
Situation: New England faced a 3rd-and-3 from its own 32.
Penalty: Greg Ellis was called offsides.
Result: New England first down. Ellis made up for this by sacking Brady a couple of plays later, resulting in a fumble that Jason Hatcher returned for a touchdown.
Penalty #3, 2nd Quarter (9:07)
Situation: New England faced a 3rd-and-3 from its own 35. Dallas had cut the score to 14-10.
Penalty: Offsides on Stephen Bowen.
Result: It gave the Patriots a 1st-and-10 on a drive that led to touchdown.
Penalty #4, 2nd Quarter (5:46)
Situation: On the same drive as Penalty #3, New England faced a 2nd-and-11 from the Dallas 35.
Penalty: DeMarcus Ware was called offsides. The Patriots took the penalty instead of a six-yard pass to Benjamin Watson.
Result:New England scored later in the drive to make the score 21-10.
Penalty #5, 2nd Quarter (2:41)
Situation:Now trailing 21-10, Dallas faced a 1st-and-10 from the Dallas 42.
Penalty:Anthony Fasano was called for offensive pass interference, negating a 16-yard pass play to Julius Jones.
Result:Instead of 1st-and-10 and the Patriot 42, Dallas faced a 1st-and-20 from the Dallas 32.
Penalty #6, 2nd Quarter (2:00)
Situation: Two plays after Penalty #5, Dallas faced a 2nd-and-11 from the Dallas 41.
Penalty:Terrell Owens was called for a false start.
Result:Dallas was backed up again.
Penalty #7, 2nd Quarter (1:01)
Situation:Thanks to some big plays by Romo and Witten, Dallas overcame Penalties ##5 and 6. Dallas had a 1st-and-10 from the New England 17.
Penalty: Andre Gurode was called for a false start.
Result: Romo bailed the Cowboys out again, hitting Owens on 3rd-and-5 on what turned out to be a 12-yard touchdown to narrow the halftime gap to 21-17.
Penalty #8, 3rd Quarter (5:07)
Situation: With Dallas leading 24-21, New England had a 2nd-and-7 on the Dallas 16.
Penalty: Brady tried to get the ball to Moss after a pump-fake. Terence Newman didn’t bite, and Patrick Watkins moved into position. Moss ran into Watkins, and Watkins was called for a pass interference.
Result: New England scored on the next play from the 1-yard-line to reclaim the lead for good.
Penalty #9, 3rd Quarter (4:56)
Situation: After falling behind, Dallas started a drive on its own 20.
Penalty: Flozell Adams, of course, joined in on the penalty parade with a holding call.
Result: Dallas was backed up to its own 10 and was unable to move the chains.
Penalty #10, 3rd Quarter (3:46)
Situation: New England had a 1st-and-10 from the Dallas 43 and a 28-24 lead. This was the play where Brady hit Moss on an apparent touchdown that was later overruled.
Penalty: Jason Hatcher was called for roughing the passer.
Result: The penalty moved the ball to the Dallas 28. The Patriots extended the lead with a field goal.
Penalty #11, 3rd Quarter (1:03)
Situation: Trailing 31-24, Dallas had a 2nd-and-9 from its own 39.
Penalty: Owens was called for an illegal shift. The penalty negated a 23-yard catch and run by Owens.
Result: Instead of having the ball at the New England 38, Dallas backed up to its own 33.
Penalty #12
Situation: On the same drive as Penalty #11, Dallas moved the ball to its own 47, facing a 4th-and-1. Wade Phillips decided to go for it.
Penalty: Marion Barber appeared to get the first down, but Kyle Kosier was called for a terrible hold that negated the play.
Result: Cowboys punted. Brady found Stallworth for 69 yards. That ended it