Mike McCarthy was unsuccessful in his first six replay challenges of the season. He hit big on lucky number seven.
After Dez Bryant's leaping 31-yard reception set the Cowboys up at the 1-yard line with 4:42 to play and Green Bay clinging to a five-point lead in Sunday's divisional playoffs, the Packers coach tossed his red flag on the field one more time. The fourth-down reception was overturned upon review, and the Packers took over possession, escaping with a26-21 win.
"I was due," McCarthy joked.
It's a play that will be remembered in the lore of both teams, and be seen by some fans as karmic retribution after the Cowboys benefitted in another officiating controversy in their win over the Lionslast weekend.
"It looked to me that he had three feet down and what they describe to us all the time, is a move common to the game," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "Dez reached out for the goal line like he's done so many times -- it's a signature play for him. He maintained possession of it throughout in my opinion, but let me make it really clear: This game wasn't about officiating. We had 60 minutes, we had an opportunity to come up here and win a ballgame and at the end of the day, we didn't get that job done."
Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating and the man responsible for the catch overturn, explained the decision in a short tweet:
"I was happy it went the right way. It was a well-reffed game," Aaron Rodgers told Fox's Erin Andrews after the game. "That's one of those plays that sometimes can go either way. But it looked on the Jumbotron it was incomplete, he didn't control it to the ground. I'm glad Mike challenged it -- he probably had 60 guys on the sideline yelling at him to challenge it."
The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps every Divisional Round game and ranks the remaining quarterbacks still standing. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
