Lions-Cowboys Week 14: Missed Call on Jameson Williams Adds Fuel to First-Quarter Drama
In a Week 14 Thursday Night Football showdown with major playoff implications, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys wasted no time getting into a tightly contested battle. But early in the first quarter, a missed call by the officials had Cowboys fans-and plenty of neutral observers-scratching their heads.
The play in question came on an end-around to Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams, who took the handoff and made a strong push toward the right pylon. Williams showed off his speed and burst, appearing to score a touchdown.
He certainly thought he did-he tossed the ball into the air in celebration. But replays showed he had stepped out of bounds at the one-yard line before crossing the goal line.
Here’s where it gets tricky. Because Williams didn’t actually score, his celebration should’ve drawn an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
According to NFL rules, prematurely celebrating a non-touchdown play-especially by throwing the ball-is grounds for a 15-yard penalty. That flag never came.
Instead, the Lions kept the ball at the one, and on the very next play, running back Jahmyr Gibbs punched it in for the touchdown, giving Detroit an early 7-0 lead.
Now, is that one missed call the reason Dallas found itself trailing? No.
Football’s a four-quarter game, and there’s always more to the story. But in a game with playoff seeding on the line, every decision gets magnified.
And this one stood out.
Lions beat writer Kory Woods noted on social media that the officials may have assumed Williams’ celebration was for a legitimate score, which could explain the lack of a flag. But that doesn’t explain the positioning of the officials.
The ref closest to the pylon didn’t signal that Williams stepped out-another official made that call. So there was a window there where the celebration happened after it was clear the ball hadn’t crossed the plane.
That’s the kind of moment that can shift momentum. A 15-yard penalty would’ve pushed Detroit back significantly, making a touchdown far less likely from that distance. Instead, they cashed in.
Cowboys fans were quick to voice their frustration, and understandably so. In a high-stakes game like this, consistency from the officiating crew becomes even more critical. And this wasn’t the only questionable moment in the first half-missed calls appeared to go both ways, adding to the tension of a game already loaded with playoff pressure.
While the game was far from decided in the first quarter, this particular sequence could loom large depending on how the rest of the night plays out. In primetime, under the national spotlight, every whistle-or lack thereof-gets replayed, debated, and dissected. And this one, no doubt, will be part of that conversation.