When referee Gene Steratore ruled that the Cowboys picked up a crucial first down on Sunday night, it was so close that he pulled out a slip of paper to see if there was any space between the ball and the stick marking the line to gain. As he stood up to signal a Cowboys first down, he smiled about the unusual situation.
Raiders coach Jack Del Rio was not amused.
“How you can look at that then get up with a smirk?” Del Rio said today. “I don’t know. That’s hard to take.”
Although Steratore wasn’t quite as demonstrative as umpire Leslie Nielsen calling strike three in The Naked Gun, he did seem to be enjoying the moment at a time when Raiders fans were understandably upset about what they thought was a bad call going against them.
Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who gave Steratore a pat on the butt as he signaled the first down, liked seeing Steratore smile and signal first down. Del Rio did not.