--- description: Thanks to a bizarre piece of officiating title: Controversial Call Helps Cowboys to Comeback Win Over Lions image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ed59131902086ab/698778010b72e3150e6dcebf/ap27582157823.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Football](/tag/football/) ## Football Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Controversial Call Helps Cowboys to Comeback Win Over Lions by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 5, 2015 1:32 AM CUT  Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray celebrates a touchdown run during the second half of an NFL wildcard playoff football game against the Detroit Lions, Jan. 4, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray celebrates a touchdown run during the second half of an NFL wildcard playoff football game against the Detroit Lions, Jan. 4, 2015, in Arlington, Texas.Brandon Wade—AP by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 5, 2015 1:32 AM CUT The Dallas Cowboys are going on to Green Bay for a divisional-round matchup with the Packers. The Detroit Lions are going home angry about what might have been, if not for a truly bizarre piece of officiating. With the Lions leading 20-17 in the fourth quarter, a pass interference call that gave the Lions a first down well into Dallas territory was picked up without explanation by referee Pete Morelli. That turned into a huge benefit for the Cowboys, as the Lions shanked a punt on the next play and the Cowboys took advantage… [Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/controversial-call-helps-cowboys-comeback-win-over-lions-n279581 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3653110/dallas-cowboys-detroit-lions-football/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3653110/dallas-cowboys-detroit-lions-football/"},"headline":"Controversial Call Helps Cowboys to Comeback Win Over Lions","datePublished":"2015-01-05T01:32:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:15:45.154Z","description":"Thanks to a bizarre piece of officiating","url":"https://time.com/3653110/dallas-cowboys-detroit-lions-football/","keywords":["Football"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ed59131902086ab/698778010b72e3150e6dcebf/ap27582157823.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ed59131902086ab/698778010b72e3150e6dcebf/ap27582157823.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"DeMarco Murray","caption":"DeMarco Murray","creditText":"Brandon Wade—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/football/","name":"Football"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3653110/dallas-cowboys-detroit-lions-football/","name":"Controversial Call Helps Cowboys to Comeback Win Over Lions"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Long and Winding Road to Paying College Players","description":"The man who helped win free agency for NFL and NBA players is seeking the same for college athletes","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/aHlzfYUV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-06T16:37:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aHlzfYUV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3653110/dallas-cowboys-detroit-lions-football/","duration":"PT3M33S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3653110/dallas-cowboys-detroit-lions-football/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```