Cowboys fans slam NFL refs after controversial holding penalty on CeeDee Lamb: “One of the worst calls ever seen”

The Dallas Cowboys were looking for a brisk start in their Thanksgiving Day battle against division rivals Washington Commanders at the AT&T Stadium. After an innocuous opening drive, the Cowboys offense kicked into gear, with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Tony Pollard all finding their groove.

On a 1st and 10 play, backup running back Rico Dowdle drove through the Commanders' defense for a first down. However, the referee threw a flag, penalizing Lamb for holding and negating the gain. The wide receiver was visibly frustrated by the call, and replays suggested that he was right to feel hard done by the referees.

Lamb made minimal contact with Commanders defensive end Andre Jones Jr., who missed the timing, saw Dowdle fly by, and decided to flop. Cowboys fans on social media were as frustrated with the call as Lamb. Here are some of the fans' replies:

The holding penalty seemingly affected Lamb's focus as he committed a false start on the subsequent play. But the Cowboys managed to overcome the errors, as two spectacular passes from Prescott, coupled with gritty rushing by Pollard and Dowdle, got the home side into the endzone for the game's opening score.

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After Dowdle's touchdown, the floodgates opened, and the Cowboys controlled proceedings. Dak Prescott looked in pristine form. The quarterback completed 22 of his 32 pass attempts for 331 passing yards and four touchdowns. Prescott found Brandin Cooks, KaVontae Turpin, Dowdle, and Lamb in the endzone. Pollard also had an excellent day, rushing for 79 yards and a touchdown.

The vaunted Cowboys defense sacked Commanders quarterback Sam Howell four times as the unit surrendered only one touchdown in the 42-10 rout. The Cowboys improved to 33-22-1 on Thanksgiving Day and are now only four wins behind the Detroit Lions, who have won 37 games on the annual holiday.

The Cowboys improved to 8-3 and jointly hold the second-best record in the NFC alongside the Lions, who lost 29-22 to the Green Bay Packers in the first game of the NFL's Thanksgiving Day triple-header. Dallas' division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, lead the NFC with a 9-1 record. The NFC's two frontrunners will battle in Week 14 at the AT&T Stadium.