Would officials have called Michael Gallup for offensive pass interference if it wasn’t Jalen Ramsey covering him? Maybe. Maybe not.
But Ramsey sold the penalty.
The Rams cornerback defended it in his postgame comments and on Monday on Instagram: “You can’t do this in football people. Great call. Rams 1-0. Don’t be so mad. LOL.”
Even though referee Tony Corrente said it was “clear and obvious on the field,” on TV and in the film room, the call that essentially ended the Cowboys’ comeback chance looked questionable.
“It made me sick when I watched the TV copy,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Monday, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “I thought Michael ran an excellent route. The DB attempted to clamp his arm, (Gallup) pulls his arm out and makes a catch.
“So, it’s definitely a call you’d like to see not happen, and I know everybody wants to talk about the time of the game and the way the game was called to that point. But at the end of the day, it was an excellent route and throw and completion by Michael Gallup from Dak.”
Instead of a 47-yard catch for Gallup to the Los Angeles 19 with 21 seconds remaining in a three-point game, officials assessed a 10-yard penalty against the Cowboys for offensive pass interference. The Rams applauded the call. The Cowboys questioned it. The officials defended it.