The Dallas Cowboys locker room seems to have united behind the same cause and called out officials after Sunday’s loss against Arizona Cardinals, 25-22.
The gripe has apparently been spearheaded by head coach Mike McCarthy, who delivered a team talk before media availability.
Leighton Vander Esch, star linebacker, was questioned about Mike McCarthy’s locker room speech. It contained some coded language that criticizes the NFL and its officials.
“We got to keep battling with everybody, not just the other team,” Leighton Vander Esch said about Mike McCarthy’s message, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “If you catch my drift.”
The NFL could fine McCarthy and Vander Esch for their comments, but the vague language could help to save a few bucks.
Dallas is now at 11-5 and will play the Philadelphia Eagles in a divisional matchup in the NFL’s new Week 18. They have already secured a playoff berth but seeding could be crucial for a team that has struggled against top sides this season.
Just when it seemed as if the Dallas Cowboys were back to their winning ways last week, they dropped one on Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals. The offense and Quarterback Dak Prescott struggled once more, with the offense not finding their groove until too late.
A major factor, for both Dallas and Arizona, was the referees. During the game, flags were often raised on all plays. Most of these were questionable.
Defensive end Demarcus Lawrence commented on the performance of the referee after the game. He subtlety addressed the referees that was working Sunday’s game, but he didn’t directly call them out.
Lawrence stated, “It’s possible we see both these teams in the playoffs.”
Lawrence wasn’t the only Dallas player to voice concern about the performance. After the same, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch talked about a certain play at the end of the game that could have given the Cowboys the ball back with less than two minutes to go.
Vander Esch stated that it was a complete fumble and that he doesn’t know how to explain it with the technology we have today, even though we don’t have timeouts. “We’re playing more against refs than any other team to my mind.”