Ron Jenkins/AP
Dak Prescott and the Cowboys gave the Rams the ball in the opening series and the choice of whether to kick or receive to start the second half.
- The Dallas Cowboys accidentally gave up the ball for both halves of their Sunday game against the Los Angeles Rams in a bizarre coin toss snafu.
- Though Dallas won the coin toss, quarterback Dak Prescott initially elected to kick off for the first half rather than "defer" their choice to the second half.
- Prescott eventually said the Cowboys wanted to "defer," but referee Walt Anderson stuck with the original call.
- By doing so, Prescott and the Cowboys gave the Rams the ball to start the opening series and the choice of whether to kick or receive the ball to open the second half.
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With a playoff spot on the line and a head coach on the hot seat, the Dallas Cowboys knew they had to start off strong in their Week 15 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
But instead, Jason Garrett's squad began its gaffes as early as humanly possible - with the opening toss.
Although the Cowboys correctly called heads to win the coin toss at their home stadium, quarterback Dak Prescott initially said his team wanted to kick off to start the first half. This gave the Rams the ball to start the opening series and the choice to receive the ball to open the second half.
Referee Walt Anderson gave Prescott a chance to clarify what he wanted. He does eventually use the word defer, but Anderson either did not hear it or chose to go with the first couple of indications to kick the ball.
"Defense, defense," Prescott said to the referee. "We want to kick it. Kicking it that way."
"You want to kick?" the referee clarified.
"We defer to the second half, yes," Prescott replied.
"Okay, you're going to kick," the official said again, before turning to the Rams captains.
"Yeah," Prescott said.
Despite giving up the opening drive, the Cowboys struck first in their Sunday afternoon matchup. They're currently 6-7 on the season and, with a win against the Rams, could move into a tie for first place in the NFC East.
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