Idaho ties in the NFL: Boise State alums Lawrence, Vander Esch call out refs after loss
Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and linebacker Leighton Vander Esch were adamant it was a fumble. The officials said otherwise.
Trailing 25-22 late in the fourth quarter, Lawrence tackled Arizona running back Chase Edmonds and appeared to force a fumble, which was recovered by the Cowboys.
But the ruling on the field was that Edmonds was down before the fumble, and Dallas coach Mike McCarthy was out of timeouts, so he couldn’t throw the challenge flag.
Instead of getting the ball at their own 29-yard line with a chance at the go-ahead score, the Cowboys watched as the Cardinals lined up in the victory formation.
“I just don’t understand how, with the technology we have nowadays, even if we don’t have timeouts or whatever it may be, to call a challenge. It’s so obvious,” Vander Esch told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Certain things are so obvious in the games the refs are messing up. Why aren’t they fixing it? It doesn’t make any sense to me. To me, we are playing more against the refs than we are the other teams.”
After the game, Lawrence tweeted out a photo of the play, which appeared to show Edmonds fumbling before his knee was down.
“I think the result said that we’re still a good team, even though we was facing two teams tonight,” Lawrence told reporters. “The result ain’t come out like we wanted it to.”
Added Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb: “The refs, I feel like, dictated that game. I mean, it’s no secret.”
The Cowboys have had beefs with the officiating after several games this season, most notably their Thanksgiving day loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. They were flagged 14 times for 166 yards in that game, one of four this season in which they’ve reached double digits in penalties.
Dallas leads the league in penalties this season, with 122. Their 1,059 yards in penalties rank No. 2 in the NFL, behind the Raiders.
“It’s been multiple times this season. If you look around the league, this isn’t just the first time it’s happened. There have been other games around the league that have been dictated from just, I don’t know if it’s incompetence or what it is. It doesn’t make sense to me,” Vander Esch told the Star-Telegram. “It’s not hard to fix that. If it’s so blatant on the field and so obvious, why the (referee in the replay booth) isn’t radioing down, ‘Hey, get this right.’ That’s not hard. That’s the ethics of the game. Getting it right. ‘Hey, you made a mistake here, get it right. Here is the right call.’”
BOISE STATE
TE, John Bates, No. 87 Washington Football Team: Started at tight end and caught three passes for 35 yards, with a long of 24 yards, while playing 58 snaps on offense (92%) and four on special teams (18%) in Washington’s 20-16 loss to Philadelphia.
G, Ezra Cleveland, No. 72 Minnesota Vikings: Started at left guard and played all 54 snaps on offense and two on special teams in the Vikings’ 37-10 loss to Green Bay. On Monday, Cleveland was placed on the Vikings’ reserve/COVID-19 list.
CB, Dont’e Deayon, No. 21 Los Angeles Rams: Came off the bench and recorded three tackles while playing 34 snaps on defense (48%) in the Rams’ 20-19 win over Baltimore.
OL, Marcus Henry, No. 53 Arizona Cardinals: Henry was on the active roster but did not play in the Cardinals’ 25-22 win over Dallas.
WR, John Hightower, No. 82 Philadelphia Eagles: Hightower is a member of the Eagles’ practice squad and did not play in their 20-16 win over Washington. He is currently on the Eagles’ reserve/COVID-19 list.
DE, DeMarcus Lawrence, No. 90 Dallas Cowboys: Started at defensive end and recorded one assisted tackle and also was whistled for an offside penalty while playing 50 snaps on defense (66%) in the Cowboys’ 25-22 loss to Arizona.
OT, Charles Leno Jr., No. 72 Washington Football Team: Started at left tackle and played all 63 offensive snaps and four on special teams (18%) in Washington’s 20-16 loss to Philadelphia.
RB, Alexander Mattison, No. 25 Minnesota Vikings: Came off the bench and caught four passes for 13 yards, with a long of 7 yards, while playing 19 snaps on offense (35%) and eight on special teams (30%) in the Vikings’ 37-10 loss to Green Bay.
RB, Jeremy McNichols, No. 28 Tennessee Titans: Came off the bench and totaled 14 yards on two carries — with a long of 12 yards — while playing six snaps on offense (10%) and one on special teams in the Titans’ 34-3 rout of Miami.
DT, David Moa, No. 96 New York Giants: Moa made his first career NFL start after being activated from the practice squad as a COVID-19 replacement. He registered one tackle while playing 26 snaps on defense (39%) and five on special teams (22%) in the Giants’ 29-3 loss to Chicago.
G, John Molchon, No. 75 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Molchon is a member of the Bucs’ practice squad and was not called up for their 28-24 win over the N.Y. Jets.
C, Matt Paradis (Council High), No. 61 Carolina Panthers: Paradis is out for the season with a torn ACL.
QB, Brett Rypien, No. 4 Denver Broncos: Rypien saw his first action of the season, entering in the first quarter for a series that went three-and-out as he went 0-for-2 passing in the Broncos’ 34-13 loss to the L.A. Chargers.
S, Darian Thompson, No. 23 Dallas Cowboys: Thompson was elevated from the practice squad as a COVID-19 replacement but did not record any stats while playing 23 snaps on special teams (88%) in the Cowboys’ 25-22 loss to Arizona.
ILB, Tanner Vallejo, No. 51 Arizona Cardinals: After being activated from injured reserve, he came off the bench and recorded one assisted tackle while playing 10 snaps on defense (16%) and 18 on special teams (69%) in the Cardinals’ 25-22 win over Dallas.
LB, Leighton Vander Esch (Salmon River High), No. 55 Dallas Cowboys: Started at middle linebacker and registered a game-leading 10 tackles while playing 57 snaps on defense (75%) and 11 on special teams (42%) in the Cowboys’ 25-22 loss to Arizona.
DE, Curtis Weaver, No. 59 Cleveland Browns: Weaver is a member of the Browns’ practice squad and was not called up for their 26-14 loss to Pittsburgh.
CB, Avery Williams, No. 35 Atlanta Falcons: Forced a fumble in the first quarter on a Buffalo punt return that resulted in a safety for the Falcons. Williams also returned one kickoff for 2 yards while playing 16 snaps on special teams (84%) in Atlanta’s 29-15 loss to Buffalo.
WR, Cedrick Wilson, No. 1 Dallas Cowboys: Wilson once again put his versatility on display, completing one pass for 31 yards and catching six passes for 35 yards while playing 30 snaps on offense (47%) in the Cowboys’ 25-22 loss to Arizona. Wilson caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott early in the fourth quarter and later hauled in a two-point conversion pass. His 31-yard completion to Tony Pollard in the fourth quarter came after Wilson received a lateral from Prescott. It led to a Dallas TD three plays later.
IDAHO
WR, Jeff Cotton, No. 88 Jacksonville Jaguars: Cotton was one of nine players elevated from the practice squad to replace players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. In his first regular-season action of the season, Cotton played one snap on offense and 14 on special teams (52%) but did not record any stats in the Jags’ 50-10 loss to New England.
G/T, Jesse Davis, No. 77 Miami Dolphins: Started at right tackle and played all 62 snaps on offense and two on special teams (8%) in the Dolphins’ 34-3 loss to Tennessee.
LB, Christian Elliss, No. 53 Philadelphia Eagles: Elliss is a member of the Eagles’ practice squad and did not play in their 20-16 win over Washington.
LB, Kaden Elliss, No. 55 New Orleans Saints: Came off the bench but did not record any stats while playing nine snaps on defense (15%) and 21 on special teams (78%) in the Saints’ 18-10 win over Carolina.
DE, Benson Mayowa, No. 10 Seattle Seahawks: Started at outside linebacker but did not record any stats while playing 25 snaps on defense (40%) in the Seahawks’ 51-29 win over Detroit.
RB, Elijhaa Penny, No. 39 New York Giants: Came off the bench and played 11 snaps on offense (20%) and 15 on special teams (65%) but did not record any stats in the Giants’ 29-3 loss to Chicago.
HIGH SCHOOLS
DE, Porter Gustin (Emmett High), No. 94 Cleveland Browns: Came off the bench and made one tackle in the fourth quarter and one on special teams while playing 20 snaps on defense (25%) and 24 on special teams (77%) in Cleveland’s 26-14 loss to Pittsburgh.
QB, Taysom Hill (Highland High), No. 7 New Orleans Saints: Started at quarterback and totaled 45 yards on 12 carries and completed 17-of-28 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown without an interception while playing all 58 snaps on offense. Hill finished with a QB rating of 97.6 to help the Saints defeat Carolina 18-10. His 12-yard touchdown pass to Alvin Kamara in the fourth quarter turned a two-point game into an 18-10 Saints advantage.
OL, Tristen Hoge (Highland High), No. 69 Denver Broncos: Hoge was recently signed to the Broncos’ practice squad after spending time on the practice squads for the N.Y. Jets and Cleveland Browns earlier this season.
DT, Tommy Togiai (Highland High), No. 93 Cleveland Browns: Came off the bench and recorded a career-high five tackles while playing 30 snaps on defense (37%) and four on special teams (13%) in Cleveland’s 26-14 loss to Pittsburgh.
DL, Jonah Williams (Rocky Mountain High), No. 92 Los Angeles Rams: Williams is a member of the Rams’ practice squad and was not called up for their 20-19 win over Baltimore.
Note: There are currently no players from Idaho State listed on an NFL roster.
This story was originally published January 3, 2022 at 6:22 PM.
