The Cowboys got a crucial 1st down thanks to a folded piece of paper (no, really)

What do refs do when a team gets so close to a first down, but it’s almost impossible to tell if they actually got it? We learned the answer on Sunday Night Football.

They measure it with a folded-up piece of paper.

The Cowboys were facing fourth-and-1, and Dak Prescott ran a quarterback keeper. It looked like he probably got the first down, but it was so close that it was impossible to be sure.

So Gene Steratore put a folded index card in between the ball and the stick, and it touched. That apparently meant it’s a first down, no matter how close of a call it was.

At least it looked like it was awfully close. Prescott didn’t necessarily agree.

"He didn't have to do all that,” Prescott said after the game. “I got it and it wasn't that close, but yeah that was interesting him measuring with the paper."

The paper measurement approach was good enough for the refs, and the Cowboys got a first down. And this still isn’t as weird as the catch rule.