Lions in uproar after pro-Cowboys calls tilt playoff game

ARLINGTON, Texas - As Jerry World erupted in joy, the hue and the cry of outrage arose from Pontiac to Philadelphia. Monumental wailing arose, from Virginia Beach to the Meadowlands.

Outraged regions of Cowboys haters howled at the cold January moon when officials reversed a pass interference call that swung the momentum and gave the Cowboys one final chance to come back against the visiting Lions.

And just like that, the 2015 playoffs had their hanging chad; their grassy knoll; their Illuminati; and that spooky pyramid eye.

Surely, the NFL and the networks delighted that they can promote Dallas visiting Green Bay on Sunday afternoon instead of the Carolina Losers. Cam Newton might be better-looking than Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers, but Newton doesn't have their star appeal. Romo led the Cowboys back from a 14-point deficit and won, 24-20 . . . with a little help, said some of the Lions.

"What do you expect when you come to Dallas?" safety Glover Quin said. "They're America's Team. The league likes the story lines and the headlines."

And, so, after reversing the most important call of the night, apparently at the behest of Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, the playoffs have their conspiracy. Fans at mammoth AT & T Stadium could not believe their good fortune.

But what is Big D-lightful in Dallas is the bitterest of pills along the shores of Lake Erie and along most of the I-95 corridor.

"I was there in Philadelphia," said Lions linebacker Darryl Tapp, an Eagle from 2010-2012 who was raised near Virginia Beach, near Michael Vick and Allen Iverson. "I grew up a Redskins fan. I understand the outrage."

There was similar outrage that Tapp's locker mate and the Lions' best player, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, had a suspension overturned that allowed him to play yesterday. Perhaps the bogus officiating simply restored karmic balance.

And, to be fair, there is a chance the Cowboys would have beaten the Lions without help from the refs.

But we will never know.

With the Lions leading, 20-17, officials overturned a pass interference call on Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens with 8:25 to play in the teams' NFC wild-card playoff game. Hitchens was cleanly beaten by tight end Brandon Pettigrew, so Hitchens first grabbed Pettigrew's jersey then chopped Pettigrew's arms. Hitchens never looked back for the ball, which fell short of Pettigrew.

The play probably would have put the Lions within field-goal range. It happened within a few yards of the Cowboys' sideline.

Bryant, the Cowboys receiver and, apparently, chief negotiator, sprang onto the field, helmetless - fineable actions that should have drawn a penalty - and berated the official who made the call even as the call was being announced.

"That was very inappropriate," Pettigrew said of Byrant's histrionics.

Within moments, the call was reversed.

That forced the Lions to punt and set up the winning touchdown.

The Cowboys did not allow Hitchens to speak after the game.

Pettigrew and his teammates spoke freely.

"I was shocked that the flag was picked up," Pettigrew said. "I thought it was ridiculous, to be honest. He ran through me, pretty much.

"That changes the whole rhythm of the game."

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett dismissed the play as insignificant; but then, when you get away with murder, you don't discuss its morality.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell, reluctant to forfeit any of his salary, refused to criticize the call. Asked what explanation he received from the officials, he tersely replied, "Not a good enough one. I'll leave it at that."

The crew chief, referee Pete Morelli, said that after back judge Lee Dyer threw the flag, head linesman Jerry Bergman convinced Morelli that the contact was minimal.

The problem was, Morelli had already announced the penalty. Morelli, in his 16th season, admitted that he had never before seen a play and a call unfold like this.

Quin said officials told him that it wasn't pass interference because, "The guy didn't touch him until it hit [Hitchens] in the back."

That would indicate the official believed the ball to be uncatchable.

Said Pettigrew: "It was a very catchable ball."

It was a very baffling call.

It did not completely turn the tide.

The Lions punted, but Sam Martin shanked it 10 yards, out of bounds. The Lions gave up a 21-yard completion on fourth-and-6 from their 42, when a stop there, with 6 minutes to play, might have been the difference.

Lions defenders then committed two holding penalties while the Cowboys, trailing by 3, were in field-goal range; one on second down, one on third down.

And, to his credit, Romo - playing with two fractures in his back and a rib injury since October - shook off six sacks, stood tall and delivered the 8-yard winner to Terrance Williams with 2:39 to play while getting hit for about the 12th time of the night.

Lions quarterback Matt Stafford, meanwhile, fumbled away the Lions' last chance at the Cowboys' 42 with a minute to play.

The game left a sour taste with some, but then, sometimes justice is served unwittingly.

The NFL last week overturned Suh's suspension. He is a pathologically dirty player. His latest offense was stepping on prostrate Packers passer Aaron Rodgers, twice, in the teams' regular-season finale. He should not have played yesterday as the Lions sought their first playoff win since they beat the Cowboys in 1991 on the day before Suh turned 4.

Instead, an independent arbitrator reversed the decision. One report said that Lions brass begged the league to let Suh play, since his absence would overwhelmingly tilt the odds in the Cowboys' favor. That, of course, is the point of any suspension: To penalize the player and his employer, because the employer implicitly endorses the dangerous behavior.

At any rate, Suh played a clean and brilliant game yesterday. He was solely responsible for sacking Romo twice. His mere presence, as usual, drew constant double-teams, freeing his teammates to pummel Romo.

Perhaps because he expects to play elsewhere as a free agent next season, Suh, notoriously poor at handling his emotions, dissolved into tears and, at one point, he briefly left his postgame news conference, but returned. During the news conference, he refused to answer questions about the latest example of his chronic brutality, but he did address his feelings at the unfair defeat:

"It's sickening," he said.

The legions of Cowboys haters will agree: The officials' inexplicable favoritism certainly was sickening.

So was Suh's presence.