Amidst a dull Monday Night Football matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants, controversy over a bad officiating call once again reared its head.
With the Giants down 6-3 with less than a minute left in the first half, Sterling Shepard was flagged for an offensive pass interference that negated a deep ball to Kenny Golladay on a crucial third down. On the play, Shepard collided with Trevon Diggs while coming off of his route, an impact which injured the Cowboys’ cornerback (though he returned for the second half).
Instead of a massive third down pickup into Cowboys territory, the Giants shuffled back 10 yards on a drive that ultimately failed due to the call on Shepard.
offensive pass interference on Sterling Shepard ?? pic.twitter.com/Y6DKtALcy4
— Ted Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) September 27, 2022
It makes sense that the NFL took a hit to the head seriously, but that’s a tough one right there to call. It’s hard to say if Shepard fully realized Diggs was about to run into him before the hit, but the wide receiver did leave his feet on the play for no real reason.
NFL fans were completely mixed on the momentum-stalling call on Twitter.
Many NFL fans were livid at the OPI on Sterling Shepard
That call on Shepard was inexplicably bad #MondayNightFootball
— Max Kellerman (@maxkellerman) September 27, 2022
Sterling Shepard was running a route, this is nonsense #NYG pic.twitter.com/X5pwHJFE1A
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) September 27, 2022
Just caught the replay of that penalty on Shepard. That is ridiculous. Horrible call.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) September 27, 2022
That call on Shepard was so egregiously bad no other words are necessary.
— Brandon Tierney (@BrandonTierney) September 27, 2022
The pass interference call on Shepard was brutal, but in all fairness the Giants got gifted the non-interference call that resulted in a Dallas field goal instead of a first down at the one.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) September 27, 2022
Shepard was def trying to avoid him.
— Will Blackmon 🍷 (@WillBlackmon) September 27, 2022
the refs thought Shepard ran into somebody at full speed on purpose?
— KP (@KP_Show) September 27, 2022
Daniel Jones hits … Hey, it's Kenny Golladay! Jones was hammered just after he threw it.
But it's all coming back thanks to an offensive pass interference call on WR Sterling Shepard. … And a pretty bad OPI call at that.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) September 27, 2022
But some NFL fans thought the call was more than fair
I feel like I'm on crazy pills listening to the fans and the TV guys. Sterling Shepard left his feet, which seems like a weird thing to do if you're simply running a route.
— David Helman (@davidhelman_) September 27, 2022
Shepard literally checked Diggs' spot, adjusted his route, then ran through his back from outside Diggs' field of vision. People saying that's not a penalty are blind. #MNF
— Andrew David (@Dsaxmon) September 27, 2022
Shepard didn’t run a flat crosser. He dropped into Diggs’ path. Good flag in my book
— Rafael Vela (@dailygoonerraf) September 27, 2022
Saying Shepard was "trying to run a route" when he
A) clearly broke his route
B) launched his body into Diggs is hilarious— Aokiji クザン (@DukeOfZamunda) September 27, 2022
