NFL VP of officiating Dean Blandino says Cowboys party bus incident had ‘absolutely nothing to do’ with non-call

Dean Blandino might have partied about the Cowboys team bus in August, but he wasn't planning some January conspiracy.

The NFL's VP of officiating made that clear on Monday, eventually following a hugely controversial pass interference penalty-turned-non-penalty played a role within the Dallas Cowboys' NFC Wild-Card playoff win over the Detroit Lions.

"That's an issue that it happened, you've got not even attempt to do using the other," Blandino said on ProFootballTalk Live. "I recognize why people see that and there is a perception there. It is just something that has nothing regarding how the game was officiated . . . People can believe what they desire to imagine, but you not even attempt to do using the other."

Blandino and NFL officiating was the target of fire again on Sunday, from bizarre sequence within the fourth quarter with the Cowboys' win, when Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew seemed to draw a penalty on third-and-1. The penalty was announced as pass interference by Pete Morelli and stepped off, only reserved for Morelli to rescind the decision moments later.

Blandino said the handling in the situation 's what resulted in a Monday filled with conspiracy theories regarding the ref czar, who had previously been caught partying with Jerry Jones' son, Stephen Jones, back August.

Blandino insisted that had absolutely nothing to do with Sunday. He admitted he would have preferred should the refs saddled with their first call, merely to avoid Monday madness, he called the pass interference ruling itself "debatable."

"I do think it's a very close judgment call which could go in any event," Blandino said.

Prior to a judgment call, though, Blandino saw another issue: Linebacker Anthony Hitchens had committed rather obvious defensive securing Pettigrew, that ought to have generated an automatic first down.

"That's holding," he explained. "There isn't any two ways concerning this. What a point of emphasis. This is a foul for holding that might happen to be called. A jersey grab like that is defensive holding."

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