Michael Gallup on interference call: I was just trying to get my hand free

[Rowdy]

USA TODAY Sports

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said he was “sick” when he watched the TV copy of the offensive pass interference call on Michael Gallup in Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Rams.

Three days after the Cowboys receiver had a 47-yard reception to the Los Angeles 19 with 21 seconds remaining negated by offensive pass interference, Gallup was done with the complaining. He instead is trying to turn it into a teachable moment.

“I mean, honestly, I guess I just (need to) beat him a little bit more at the line so we’re not play fighting down the field for a good 10 yards,” Gallup said Wednesday. “That’s the best I can put it. I was just trying to get my hand free, so (therefore) it looked like I pushed off. But it is what it is.”

There are some (raises hand) who wondered aloud whether the flags — two of them — would have come out if it wasn’t one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL — Jalen Ramsey — selling the penalty.

“Got to call it fair every now and then. Get your chances when they come,” Gallup said when asked the question. “But I hope I get that call a little bit down the road.”

Rams fans, of course, point to the penalty the Cowboys got away with earlier in the second half. Cowboys pass rusher Aldon Smith hit Rams quarterback Jared Goff in the head on a third quarter interception Chidobe Awuzie had of Goff. A penalty would have negated the interception, but the Cowboys turned the short field into a six-play, 24-yard field goal drive.

The Cowboys lost the game, and Smith surely will lose money when fines are handed out Saturday.