The Dallas offense spent much of the day running — and throwing — in place. Tailback Ezekiel Elliott was bottled up by the Washington defense, running for only 33 yards on 15 carries. And there were not enough offensive alternatives for the Cowboys. Their first touchdown came on a long pass from quarterback Dak Prescott to rookie wide receiver Michael Gallup late in the first half. But Prescott lost two fumbles, one of which gave the Redskins the touchdown that seemed to seal the outcome.<doc-sep>Were the Dallas Cowboys robbed of a chance to go to overtime Sunday? During the team’s 20-17 loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 7, Dallas was called for a controversial penalty that may have cost the team the game. With three seconds left, the Cowboys lined up for a game-tying 47-yard field goal. Before the ball was snapped, Washington lineman Da’Ron Payne appeared to jump offsides. At first, it was assumed Dallas would move even closer. That wasn’t the case. Cowboys long snapper L.P. Ladouceur was called for a snap infraction. The Cowboys had to move back five yards. Brett Maher couldn’t hit from 52 yards out, hitting the upright with his kick. Had the team been five yards closer, it’s possible Maher’s kick would have narrowly split the uprights, tying things up. Following the contest, the NFL’s officiating Twitter account clarified why Ladouceur was called for the penalty. “The illegal ball movement by the center in #DALvsWAS causes the defense to come across the neutral zone and contact a lineman.” -AL pic.twitter.com/Cv8Ugwb99p — NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) October 21, 2018 In the video, Ladouceur lowered the ball to get a better angle on the snap. That was enough for the refs to blow the whistle. Problem is, Ladouceur did the exact same thing on the next snap … and nothing was called. Following the contest, Ladouceur couldn’t understand why he was penalized for something he does every time he’s out there, according to the Washington Post. “I never had that before,” Ladouceur said. “I do the exact same thing every time. That’s what I was telling the refs: I do the exact same thing.” Ladouceur might be a biased source considering his role in the play. Washington long snapper Nick Sundberg admitted it’s not a penalty that usually gets called, though he thought Ladouceur’s movements were “exaggerated.” Story continues Situation plays a huge roll in whether or not they make the call. Refs talk to me every pregame and tell me not to make any “abrupt” movements with the ball. In this situation, this one was exaggerated and it caused a jump, so they called it. — Nick Sundberg (@NickSundberg) October 22, 2018 NBC analyst Tony Dungy wasn’t having that. He compared video of both plays back-to-back, and he couldn’t tell what was different about Ladouceur’s snap the second time. The false start-illegal snap penalty called on the Cowboys long snapper that moved the kick back to 52 yds was horrible. The snapper followed the same routine & did nothing to draw the Redakins offside. We looked at it over & over and I don’t see how they could have called that. — Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) October 22, 2018 The only person who didn’t complain about the penalty was the guy who missed the kick. Following the game, Maher said the penalty “had zero impact on the result of that kick.” The loss came at a terrible time for Dallas. With a win, the team would have taken over first place in the NFC East. Instead, the team is 3-4, and sits below Washington in the standings. The Cowboys lost due to a controversial call. (AP Photo/Mark Tenally) – – – – – – – Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! More from Yahoo Sports: • Bowl projections: Big Ten leader Michigan in running for CFP spot • Tim Brown: Yasiel Puig puts mustard on Dodgers’ NL pennant • Rondo-CP3 brawl grips NBA during LeBron’s home debut in L.A. • Pete Thamel: 10 takeaways include Ohio State’s shocking loss at Purdue<doc-sep>Cowboys kicker Brett Maher missed a 52-yard field goal attempt that would have tied Sunday's game against the Redskins as time expired. He drilled the left upright, and the ball bounced wide. And, yes, the kick probably would have been good had it been attempted from Washington's 28-yard line and not from Washington's 33. Veteran long-snapper L.P. Ladouceur was flagged for a snap infraction, a five-yard penalty, before Dallas' try from the 28. The NFL's officiating Twitter account explained the penalty with a tweet soon after the fact. “The illegal ball movement by the center in #DALvsWAS causes the defense to come across the neutral zone and contact a lineman.” -AL pic.twitter.com/Cv8Ugwb99p — NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) October 21, 2018 "The illegal ball movement by the center causes the defense to come across the neutral zone and contact a lineman," NFL VP of officiating Al Riveron wrote in the tweet. We'll say that call is ... interesting. Ladouceur and many long snappers often move the ball in such a manner as part of the final pre-snap set. The words "illegal ball movement" can't be found in the league's 2018 rule book. "I just adjusted down so I could put my hands on the bottom of it so I could snap it in the right direction,” Ladouceur said, via ESPN. “Exact same thing I’ve been doing for 14 years … I’m not even trying to get him offside. I know the situation. Just too bad." From the NFL rule book: "It is a False Start if the ball has been placed ready for play, and, prior to the snap, an offensive player who has assumed a set position charges or moves in such a way as to simulate the start of a play, or if an offensive player who is in motion makes a sudden movement toward the line of scrimmage. Any quick abrupt movement by a single offensive player, or by several offensive players in unison, which simulates the start of the snap, is a false start." The Redskins won, 20-17. Dallas fell to 3-4 on the season. Washington (4-2) leads the NFC East.<doc-sep>
The Cowboys were called for eight penalties on Sunday, but only one of them managed to turn into a controversy, and that was the flag that was thrown on long snapper L.P. Ladouceur with just three seconds left in the game. With the Redskins up 20-17, Cowboys kicker Brett Maher lined up for a 47-yard field goal. However, before he could attempt the kick, one of the officials threw a flag. Although it appeared that the Redskins might have jumped offsides, the call on the field was a snap infraction by Ladouceur. The penalty moved the Cowboys back five yards and forced Maher to attempt his game-tying field goal from 52 yards away. The penalty ended up being huge, because Maher's kick hit the left upright and likely would have gone in if he had attempted it from 47 yards. After the penalty was called, a lot of fans on Twitter felt that the Cowboys got screwed. Due to the controversial nature of the play, the NFL didn't waste any time explaining the situation. Almost as soon as the game ended, the NFL's vice president of officiating, Al Riveron, sent out a tweet explaining why Ladouceur was called for a snap infraction. As you'll see in the video below, Ladouceur made a subtle movement with the ball, which is why the flag was thrown. "The illegal ball movement by the center causes the defense to come across the neutral zone and contact a lineman," Riveron wrote. Generally, you won't see a penalty called when the long snapper subtly moves the ball like that on a field goal. However, if the movement causes the defense to jump, then the official has to throw the flag. The one thing about this penalty is that long snappers move the ball into position all the time before they snap it, but officials rarely throw a flag. The decision to call a penalty on Ladouceur could set a bad precedent. If a defender sees a long snapper move the ball into a snapping position, the defender could jump offsides knowing the long snapper is the one who's going to get flagged. Of course, it's not the ref's fault that the Cowboys lost this game. If Cowboys fans want to blame someone, they should probably look at Jason Garrett, who made several questionable decisions over the final minutes of the game. After a nine-yard catch by Cole Beasley, the Cowboys had the ball on Washington's 37-yard line with one timeout and 52 seconds left to play. Instead of going for a touchdown, the Cowboys ran two plays, gained just six yards, spent their timeout and set up their rookie kicker for a difficult field goal from 47 yards out, which became 52 yards after the penalty was called on Ladouceur.