One play doesn't decide a 60 minute football game, though the Arizona Cardinals were on the wrong side of a big call in their Week 4 loss to the New York Giants, which ultimately ended 36-24 in favor of the home team.
After stopping New York on third down late in the third quarter, the Cardinals and Giants brought out their respective field goal teams. Dominic Zvada booted home a field goal to cut Arizona's lead to 24-22 before a flag emerged on the field.
Cardinals defensive lineman Dante Stills was called for holding on the play, which gave New York a fresh set of downs.
Everybody from the broadcast booth to Mike LaFleur down on the sidelines was perplexed by the call, and just two plays later the Cardinals found themselves trailing after Jameis Winston threaded a touchdown pass to Theo Johnson.
The call, when looking at it, is ticky-tacky at absolute best. Stills clearly doesn't have a strong grasp on the Giants' offensive lineman and it wasn't close to egregious enough to potentially change the course of a game like it did.
Rather than being up by two, the Cardinals began the next possession trailing by three. A point-swing like that can change momentum in the snap of a finger, and it clearly did. The Cardinals were needing a touchdown to tie (and extra point to win) on their final drive instead of needing a field goal for a possible win.
Penalties have been a hot topic in the desert, as entering Week 4 the Cardinals were one of the most penalized teams in the league. Arizona cleaned their act up in New York with seven total penalties for 55 yards, though mistakes at inopportune times still killed the Cardinals down the stretch.
"You have to focus in on it. Like I told you guys two weeks ago, sometimes you speak it into existence. I don't think we've done that. We know it needs to get done," LaFleur said during the week.
"We're professionals - coaches and players and we're in it with them, but that certainly is an aspect that has to get cleaned up because whether it was the pre-snap operation on that fourth drive or the holding on the first and second drive, it killed us."
The Cardinals now drop to 1-3 on the season. They'll get back to work in Week 5 against the Detroit Lions.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/cardinals/onsi as The Most Egregious Referee Call that Crushed the Cardinals in Week 4 Loss vs Giants .
