Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Jerry Jones laments officiating after Cowboys loss on Thanksgiving

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 11/26/21

Long story short, the Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Cowboys and the Raiders had a lot of penalties.

Like, a lot of them. A whopping 28 penalties, to be exact, with the Cowboys racking up a franchise-record 166 yards for their infractions.

After Dallas lost 36-33 in overtime -- following a pass interference penalty on safety Anthony Brown, no less -- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones let it be known he was not happy with the game being littered with flags.

"Well, this probably will be arguably the most-watched game other than the Super Bowl, and I hated that it got down to just throwing the ball up and getting your penalties to get your big plays," Jones told the media post-game.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not pleased with the way today’s Cowboys vs. Raiders game was officiated: “(The Raiders) took advantage of the situation. I call it ‘Throw up ball.’” pic.twitter.com/trMKgyfBw2
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 26, 2021

"Now, don't get me wrong, I'm so proud of our team for the way we hung in, hung in and came back and played," Jones continued, "but it's frustrating for everybody, for all of our fans at this particular time, to have a game that had you on pretty unsure footing as to where you were going to be with your fundamentals..."

This one decided it. Four pass interference calls against Anthony Brown today pic.twitter.com/FoJO5ks1b9
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 26, 2021

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy wasn't too thrilled with the high penalty count either and took the media's questions with the usual level of disdain he shows during post-game conferences.

"Twenty-eight penalties -- I don't really know what the hell you want me to say," McCarthy said, via ESPN. "Write whatever you want, I'm all for it."

With the loss, the Cowboys fell to 7-4 on the season but remain in first place in the NFC East ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles. Their next game is Thursday, December 2 against the host New Orleans Saints, who also lost on Thanksgiving.

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