NFL Officiating Explains Why Cowboys Lost Possession On Blocked Punt That Led To 1st Down For Broncos (TWEET)

The Dallas Cowboys got the spark they needed in the second hald as they trailed 16-0 in the first half against the Denver Broncos.

That spark quickly went away when they blocked a punt and a Cowboys player tried to corral the ball and failed. The ball was then recovered by a member of the Denver punt team.

NFL Officiating Twitter account explained why that ball belonged to the Broncos instead of the Cowboys.

In #DENvsDAL, the punt is blocked & goes beyond the line of scrimmage, where it's touched by the receiving team. Since the receiving team touches the ball beyond the line of scrimmage, the kicking team is eligible to recover the ball. DEN recovers the ball, but cannot advance it. pic.twitter.com/bcdUEGu3Jd

— NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) November 7, 2021

Because the Cowboys player failed to recover the ball to start, the ball was then considered live and the Broncos got a free first down.

That is a very weird rule that we don’t see often, but it is clearly a loophole that needs to be changed before we see it happen in the postseaosn.