Kyle Van Noy was not happy with the officiating in the Baltimore Ravens' first win of the season, which came against the Dallas Cowboys. The Ravens were up 14-3 on the floundering Cowboys in the second quarter when Nnamdi Madubuike had Dak Prescott in his grasp. Prescott bailed himself out by flinging the ball to Tyler Smith, which should have been an intentional grounding penalty.
Well, if the correct penalty had been called, I wouldn't be here talking to you about Van Noy's complaint, now would I? The officials called "illegal touching" on the play and the Cowboys punted the football away since the play in question happened on third down. Had they called the correct penalty, which was intentional grounding, then the Cowboys would have been given a 10-yard penalty and since the ball was on the 7-yard line, it'd have been ruled a safety.
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Van Noy was not pleased with the officials following the game, posting on X later that evening with a call-out of the refs. He's more than likely going to get fined for this but those who know anything about Van Noy probably know that he doesn't care if his bank account takes a hit after this comment.
Today I found out that if a QB is goin down for a safety you can just pass it to an O-lineman and you good?!?! What?!?! 🧐🤨
— Kyle Van Noy (@KVN_03) September 23, 2024
Kyle Van Noy puts refs on blast following Ravens/Cowboys game
If the officials had called the correct penalty there, it's a 16-3 Ravens lead. Sure, maybe the Cowboys still end up coming back and giving the Ravens a scare at the end of the game but it'd have been a little less intense for Baltimore in that scenario. The good guys would have been up by five points rather than three points so the Cowboys would have had to get a touchdown to win and not just a field goal to tie.
This wasn't the only instance of suspicious officiating in the Ravens/Cowboys game either. With the Ravens leading by 10 in the fourth quarter, a questionable roughing the passer call was enforced on Odafe Oweh that really made the officiating seem like it was going in favor of Dallas. The Cowboys had scored on their previous two drives and scored again on this drive, thanks to that call, to make it a much tighter game.
In other words, Kyle Van Noy was right to call out the officials. Fortunately, the Ravens don't have to face the Cowboys very often but the officating has been suspect in recent years and they're lucky to have escaped Big D with a win. The win put them at 1-2 and they're right back in the thick of things in the AFC North, which has been off to a sluggish start.