Referee Revealed for Lions vs. Cowboys Game

Tony Corrente

Getty Tony Corrente makes a call in London.

The Detroit Lions have had a checkered season with the officials, and as they get set for a battle with the Dallas Cowboys, they will have to deal with another one of their classic tormentors in stripes.

This week, the Lions and Cowboys will be assigned veteran referee Tony Corrente for their game. It’s the second time this season that the Lions will see Corrente, and the first time that the Cowboys will get him thus far this year.

Corrente has not been a common referee for either team, as he has only refereed one Dallas game since the 2017 season. Detroit has seen him do a bit more of their games, and has more of a history with Corrente on the negative side, though it has been fairly positive for the team lately.


Lions History With Tony Corrente

This season, the Lions saw Corrente against the Philadelphia Eagles. While the Lions won the game, the most interesting thing to note is how Corrente only called 13 penalties all game. For the most part, he let the teams play and actually pulled out critical calls late against the Eagles which helped the Lions put away a very close win.

Prior to that, Corrente had officiated a game for the Lions in the 2017 season, and worked two in 2016. Those affairs aren’t the ones Lions fans will remember, however. The game most are able to recite that Corrente called took place in 2015 on Monday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks.

With Detroit driving late, they appeared to get a touchdown from Calvin Johnson, but the ball was smacked out from behind causing a fumble. The ball rolled into the end zone, where it was batted out of bounds by a Seattle defender. Instead of calling illegal touching, Corrente and crew ruled that the play was a touchback, thus helping the Lions to another close loss on the road. The NFL actually confirmed Corrente made a mistake.

It was a controversial play that many Lions fans remain hot about to this day, and it’s something that they might not remember that Corrente had a hand in.

Whenever Corrente does a Lions game, though, it’s fair game to remember perhaps the most frustrating call he’s made against the team.


2019 a Rough Year for Lions and Referees

The Lions haven’t had an easy time with the referees at all in 2019. They had a debacle a month ago in Green Bay which could have helped in the current downturn of their season. Prior to that, they saw a strange call on the goal line doom them against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Obviously, the referees have not cost the Lions most lately considering some of their biggest problems, but arguably, the hands to the face calls in Green Bay stole what would have been a big early season road win for the team. Since, the Lions have hardly been able to pick up the pieces, and they’ve been felled by an inconsistent defense as well as injuries on both sides of the ball.

This week, the Lions will hope they can render Corrente’s impact on the game negligible, just like they did earlier in September in Philadelphia.

READ NEXT: A Deep Dive Into Lions vs. Cowboys