The Cowboys and Raiders played a penalty-fest on Thanksgiving, and Dallas coach Mike McCarthy isn’t happy about it.
McCarthy said today that he has been in contact with the NFL officiating office and plans further discussions about Thursday’s tightly officiated ball game.
“This game was totally off the trend line, as you can see as far as statistics. I’ve already talked to the league this morning, and I anticipate a second conversation, maybe this afternoon,” McCarthy said, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
McCarthy is correct about the statistics: Raiders-Cowboys was the first NFL game in 18 years in which both teams were assessed 14 or more penalties for 100 or more yards.
“Yesterday’s game was extremely frustrating. It was very herky jerky. The officiating was a big part of the game,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy acknowledged, however, that his team needs to learn to win ugly. That’s what the Raiders did yesterday, while the Cowboys lost ugly.
