Ball don’t lie: 3 worst calls from Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season
By Mark Powell
2. Chris Godwin gets away with Offensive Pass Interference
Timing makes Godwin’s OPI perhaps the worst call of all, were it pretty much any other week. But we’ll get to that.
With Tom Brady driving for the eventual game-winning field goal, Godwin made a circus catch that was aided by an obvious push-off. The replay does him no favors, and shows just how poorly the officiating crew screwed over the Dallas Cowboys.
This was not called offensive pass interference on Chris Godwin, which set up the game winning FG for the Bucs #DALvsTB https://t.co/QNZwp3Ay85
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) September 10, 2021
There is only one scenario where the officiating crew goes against the Cowboys over the course of a close game, and that’s when Tom Brady is on the other side.
Offensive pass interference can specifically occur when the ball is in the air, and in this case, Godwin shoves the Cowboys defensive a solid yard backwards. This is more than two players fighting for the ball, which typically can be disregarded as “letting the players play.”
No, the Cowboys went in Tampa Bay and almost beat the defending Super Bowl champions on their own turf on opening night. That’s relatively unheard of for a team that didn’t make the playoffs the year prior, with a quarterback coming off a season-ending injury.
There’s plenty of good to take from this game if you’re the Cowboys, but a win would’ve been nice, too.