Dallas Cowboys fans are breathing a little easier. Detroit Lions fans are losing it on social media. Early in the first quarter of Thursday night’s matchup at Ford Field, Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell shot through the line and flattened Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the end zone.

Officials on the field immediately signaled safety, and the scoreboard flipped to 5-3 in favor of Detroit as Ford Field lost its mind. Then, the replay stepped in.

After review, officials ruled that Prescott had the entire ball outside the goal line when Campbell first made contact, so they wiped the safety off the board and spotted the ball just outside the end zone. The Cowboys still had to punt from deep in their own territory, but a potential two points, and possession vanished for Detroit.

From there, the sequence got better for Lions fans. Bryan Anger’s punt set up Detroit at the Dallas 42, Tom Kennedy ripped off a 21-yard return, and the Lions marched 42 yards in six plays. Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for 26, and Jahmyr Gibbs finished it with a 1-yard score to push the lead to 10-3. By the end of the first quarter, Detroit had outgained Dallas 93-41, with Goff 7-of-10 for 76 yards and Gibbs piling up 50 total yards. 

 

On social media, the reaction was instant. “This sack somehow wasn’t called a safety on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott…As a Cowboys fan, I gotta admit, the Lions just got screwed BIG TIME…”

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Another fan vented, “These NFL officiating rules are simply ridiculous. Obviously it's a safety. The game isn't played in slo mo. Another idiotic rule, just like pass inference, where the offense can pushoff, hold & grab 2 get a advantage but the defense can't.”

But the rulebook side has ammo, too. An end zone angle later showed Prescott with the ball clearly outside the plane when Campbell hit him, prompting even rules analyst Terry McAulay to change his stance on the broadcast and say replay got it right.