NFL fans outraged as officials get the facemask call backwards in Cowboys vs Giants: "Stupid a** refs"

The NFC East matchup between the Cowboys and Giants became the latest NFL game this season when referees have been under scrutiny for baffling decisions. Previously, fans have lambasted the zebras for failing to adequately penalize the opposition when they felt they had been wronged.

But in this game between New York and Dallas, the referees inexplicably ended up identifying the nature of the infraction correctly and then awarding the penalty against the wrong team. A foul for a facemask grab was called against Giants player #82, Daniel Bellinger. However, replays showed that it was Dallas defender #13, DeMarvion Overshown who had grabbed his opponent by the grill instead.

What should have been a call against Dallas ended up going against New York and making the Giants lose 15 yards on the drive. Fans were apoplectic by the standard of refereeing and took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to air their grievances. Here are some of the reactions.

Some blamed NFL executives saying that their hiring practices had led to the referees being of lower standards. Others lamented how this proved to be a crucial game-changer that swung the momentum in favor of the Cowboys. Here are a few more responses.

"The NFL employs the 3 blind mice and expects refing to improve"

"15 yards, 30 yard swing! Changed the start of the game Dov. How is this acceptable in the NFL."

"Wow killed the drive should be 7-0"

Cowboys benefit from refereeing confusion to score first touchdown against Giants

Fans have a habit of saying that bad decisions average out over the course of a game but Giants supporters did not find fortune swinging their way. After the missed call on the facemask penalty stalled their drive, they refused to do the same against the Cowboys when they were on offense.

Dak Prescott threw a screen to Rico Dowdle, who got into the endzone on a second-and-goal. He got the benefit of blockers ahead of him who cleared his lane to allow him to claim the touchdown. But a flag was thrown for Cooper Beebe being illegally downfield before the pass was made. New York fans could only celebrate that briefly as it was picked up and the points awarded to Dallas.

We have seen such penalties being given in other games and the play getting called back. But the referees decided to err on the side of the offense in this call, even though they decided otherwise when adjudicating the facemask penalty.