Cowboys' DeMarcus Lawrence: Coin-toss confusion was 'my fault' after prodding Dak Prescott

Jori Epstein | USA TODAY

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ARLINGTON, Texas — DeMarcus Lawrence says it was his fault.

The Cowboys were initially going to opt to receive the ball when the coin toss came up heads after the Rams called tails.

But Lawrence and his defense were champing at the bit to face the Rams team that gashed them for 273 rushing yards in January to knock the Cowboys from the playoffs. Lawrence didn’t want to wait.

Lawrence, a defensive captain present for the coin toss, relayed that message to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, an offensive captain.

“Defense,” Prescott told official Walt Anderson. He pointed toward the Rams and added: “Kicking it that way.”

Anderson looked to confirm with Prescott whether he meant his team would defer or kick off, which would give the Rams the choice to receive in the second half, too.

“We defer to the second half,” Prescott said.

Anderson responded, “OK, you’re going to kick.”

The miscommunication spurred confusion. The Fox broadcast indicated the Cowboys would end up kicking both halves due to the imprecise language. Rams coach Sean McVay spoke with officials and said he was under the impression Los Angeles would receive the kick entering the second half as well. The game’s official play-by-play always said the Cowboys elected to defer.

Cowboys-Rams play by play says Cowboys deferred. pic.twitter.com/XglQMSrnKj — Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) December 15, 2019

The league has the authority to intervene on replay “as far as game administration,” NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron said in a pool report. “So by rule, we can get involved. This a game administration, not a judgment call, for example.

“And we have definite audio that refers to deferring.”

Prescott said the coin-toss confusion made for “definitely a weird start” to Dallas’ 44-21 statement win over Los Angeles. But as the Cowboys snapped a three-game losing streak to keep pace atop the NFC East, Prescott joked perhaps the miscommunication helped.

“We wanted to set adversity there instead of on the field so we could play from behind immediately,” Prescott said. “Just bad use of words by me. We listened to the audio. We got it figured out. Just wasn’t the cleanest coin flip I’ve been a part of.”

Prescott was deemed, per Riveron, by using “defer” when Anderson clarified the Cowboys’ decision. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the team felt it had a case all along since Prescott said the word.

Lawrence guessed Prescott initially said “defense” because his defensive captain made the last-minute plea.

“We was supposed to say ‘defer,’” Lawrence said. “Well, it was my fault actually. I wanted defense to go out first, felt like we had a lot of energy, wanted to get it off our chest and we had something to prove especially after that playoff loss. So it was just time to get down and dirty.”

The coin flip ultimately might not have mattered much in the blowout win. Dallas scored first despite deferring, then the Rams tied the game at 7-7. Los Angeles never took a lead. By halftime, the Cowboys had raced to a 28-7 advantage. Dallas scored 30 unanswered points before Todd Gurley scored on a 7-yard run with 3:17 to play in the game. The Rams wouldn’t come within 20 points of the Cowboys in the second half.

Still, owner Jerry Jones joked: “I’m going to have to get me a new coin-flip caller out there.”

“No but seriously, really proud,” Jones added. “For a guy that started off screwing the coin toss, you talk about making it a play and not letting it bother him for the next one.

“I think you had it right there from the get-go before the ball was even kicked off.

“I am proud of him.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.