Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys' comeback bid fails when Terrance Williams doesn't get out of bounds on final play

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:19 p.m. ET

Chris Chase

The Dallas Cowboys were down one point to the New York Giants late in Sunday's NFC showdown. After a late punt, Dallas got the ball on its own 20, and rookie quarterback Dak Prescott had 1:05 and no timeouts to go about 42 yards to put kicker Dan Bailey in position to hit an improbable game-winning field goal.

Prescott and the Cowboys offense were nearly in position to do their part, snapping the ball from just inside their own territory with 12 seconds left. One zipped pass to the sideline and a sidestep out of bounds would have given Bailey, who had drilled a 54-yarder earlier in the game, a chance to win. And then a fourth-year veteran wide receiver made a rookie mistake.

It was third-and-10, and the Cowboys didn't have a timeout after using them up while the Giants were on offense the previous possession. Prescott was in the shotgun, took a three-step drop and found an unbelievably wide open Terrance Williams, who'd been lined up in the slot, on the Giants' 48-yard line. The nearest Giants defender was 5 yards away. Ten seconds. Williams was three yards from the sideline. With a quick step -- and Williams certainly has that -- he could have turned inside, theoretically run to the 45-yard line and then laid out with the ball to stop the clock and give Bailey what would have been a 59-yard field goal to win.

But Williams had no intention of going out of bounds. He wanted yards. The wideout came down with the ball -- nine seconds and ticking -- then instead of pivoting right toward the sideline, he went left, to open field, dodged a defender and dove to the 40-yard line. There were six seconds left on the clock.

Dallas furiously tried to line up to spike the ball, but even the best teams can't get set in six seconds. The official hadn't yet placed the ball when the clock hit zero. Game over.

To be fair, it's not as if Williams' (in)decision cost Dallas the game. There was still a long way to kick and it's possible Williams would have been stuffed in his attempt to get as many yards as possible before going out of bounds. What Williams did was cost Dallas a chance to win the game. Not getting out of bounds was the nail in the game's coffin.

The oddest thing about Williams' move: He seemingly knew the situation. Williams dove to end the play quickly. He scurried up afterward, evidently understanding that there was little time left and he'd need to get on the line of scrimmage immediately. But his interior clock (or his understanding of the space-time continuum) failed him. When you line up with 12 seconds left and no timeouts and catch the ball anywhere on the field, you get out of bounds. It's football 101.