Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy vented his frustration at NFL officials over a no-call that cost his team a safety in the second quarter of Baltimore's 28-25 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. On 3rd and ten from the Cowboys' 7-yard line, Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike had quarterback Dak Prescott in his grasp. With Prescott nearly sacked in the end zone for a two-point safety, he flipped the ball to Dallas guard Tyler Smith before he was tackled. Rather than Dallas being flagged for intentional grounding, which would have resulted in a two-point safety, the referees called illegal touching.

“Today I found out that if a QB is going down for a safety, you can just pass it to an O-lineman, and you good?!?!” Van Noy wrote. “What?!?!”

Ultimately, Baltimore declined the flag, and the Cowboys punted. By catching the ball, Smith, under the rules, prompted the illegal touching rule, not the intentional grounding rule. His catch made this a live ball under the regulations, which he could have fumbled and provoked the illegal touching penalty. Had the guard not made the catch or deflected off him and was incomplete, then the intentional grounding discussion would have come into play. That would have touched off a debate over whether Prescott’s throw had a realistic chance of being caught.

Did the officials make the right calls between the Ravens and Cowboys?

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While Van Noy's is warranted, it wasn't the only questionable call between the Ravens and Cowboys. There was also a call against Baltimore as they tried to hold onto their one 22-point lead in the fourth quarter. On 2nd and ten from the Ravens' 49-yard line with 3:50 left in the game, Prescott was hit as he threw by outside linebacker Odafe Oweh. Baltimore's lineback was then flagged for roughing the passer.

After that call, Dallas drove down the field and scored to make it a three-point game with under three minutes. Postgame, Oweh was unsurprised if he would be fined for his thoughts on the call.

“No,” Oweh said. “He was just smiling at me the whole game, to be honest. Whenever I would ask [what] the call was and stuff like that, he would just smile at me and give me a little weird smirk. That's just the nature of the game. [I] just have to play through it and find a way to put [the quarterback down] a little bit more gently. We'll see how it goes if they fine me or not.”