The NFL told the Cowboys that the two tripping penalties should not have been called... seriously

There are a lot of things to be frustrated about with how the Dallas Cowboys played against the New England Patriots, but one of the bigger topics actually has nothing to do with America’s Team. During their loss in Week 12, the Cowboys had a really rare penalty in the form of tripping called against one of their offensive linemen. What’s more is that the Cowboys not only were called for it against Tyron Smith, they were called for it against Travis Frederick as well.

The Frederick penalty is one that people are going to really remember because it turned what would have been a third-and-one conversion on what ended up being the last significant possession of the game for the Cowboys into third-and-11. Dallas was unable to move the chains, but obviously we don’t know if they would have scored had they been able to keep going.

You want to know what’s frustrating? They should have been able to keep going. The NFL told the Cowboys on Monday that neither of those tripping penalties should have been called. Seriously.

The Cowboys lost the game against the Patriots for reasons that go beyond the tripping penalties. Still, it’s definitely frustrating that the league is acknowledging they shouldn’t have been called, but that’s been the story of this season for so many teams. The league doesn’t know what its own penalties are.