NFL Refs Ignore Cowboys Star’s Blatant Punch as Controversy Mounts Against Officials

Last season, Tyler Guyton’s inexperience at left tackle was thought to play a role in his five accepted offensive penalties by the start of October. “I think it’s all on me. I just have to get better,” the Cowboys‘ player had shared. After all, that was the third most in the league while entering Week 5, but it was not about to get any better. If anything, he ended that season with 18 penalties, ranking him 139th out of 140 in that category. Perhaps this season would be different, right?

Wrong! At least, that’s what it looks like right now. Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles witnessed him throw a punch. Here’s what happened: During the first half, things got chippy, and the Cowboys’ left tackle threw a punch at an Eagles‘ pass rusher. Possibly, the player at the receiving end could have been No. 50 Ogbo Okoronkwo. However, it went almost unnoticed by officials. But social media users and football media quickly started talking about the incident.

JPA, an account that posts football news, tweeted, “#Cowboys LT Tyler Guyton punched an #Eagles pass rusher in the helmet and did not get a penalty for it ☠️”. The immediate digital outcry was a mix of disbelief and weary acceptance because the act was, of course, against the rules.

As per the NFL’s rulebook: Section 3, Article 1: “There shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct. This applies to any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship. Such acts specifically include, among others: (a.) Throwing a punch, or a forearm, or kicking at an opponent, even though no contact is made.” It is a prohibited act that gets a penalty.

Reacting to the incident, football coach Dan Casey tweeted, “Practicing the Left Tackle with Left Hook 😳.”

Interestingly, just moments before, the officials had been notably vigilant. The Eagles’ Nolan Smith Jr. was flagged for taunting earlier in the game. Smith made a good tackle against Miles Sanders, but with the latter on the ground, Smith stared down at him and yelled.

Additionally, Philly’s Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Tyler Guyton’s punch, a precedent, and the NFL’s disciplinary double standard

Several social media users were unhappy that the punch wasn’t called out:

• “Should have been called. You need the chain gang back and roborefs. But they can be manipulated like humans.” 
• “Help me out, isn’t punching an ejection in the nfl, or are the cowboys exempt?”

As per the information available, the league considers non-football acts to be worthy of automatic ejections. That includes a punch or a kick. However, as shared by the NFL officiating rules analyst Walt Anderson last year, they also set up criteria to ensure the rules don’t apply to relatively mild aggression.

In fact, on-field officials and league executives are all authorized to issue ejections if they think a particular action was flagrant. The NFL rulebook explains flagrant as “extremely objectionable, conspicuous, avoidable, or gratuitous.”

• “Cowboys lineman throwing a punch mid-play and no flag—are NFL refs just blind or picking and choosing what they want to see?”

Regardless, the incident forces a look into the NFL’s disciplinary process. Just days prior, Tampa Bay’s Shilo Sanders was ejected and fined $4,669 for throwing a punch in a preseason game.

During 2024’s Week 9, a series of violent headshots created a similar officiating riddle. Saints’ WR Chris Olave took a devastating hit from Panthers’ safety Xavier Woods that drew a flag but no ejection. Hours later, Dolphins’ safety Jordan Poyer laid a similar hit on Bills’ receiver Keon Coleman, drawing only a penalty. But it doesn’t end there. A few more hours later, Lions’ safety Brian Branch was ejected for a hit on Packers’ receiver Bo Melton. The difference, according to the league, is ‘flagrancy.’ Former officiating chief Dean Blandino noted the difficulty, thinking of the Branch and Poyer hits were “very similar.”

But with the new hit from Guyton, fans were quite furious. They wrote on social media:

• “Meanwhile, Tyler Guyton punched an Eagles pass rusher in the head. And nothing happened.” 
• “Tyler Guyton should be suspended for the rest of the season.”

In a league where every game carries immense weight, the line between a penalty and an ejection, between a fine and a free pass, can seem frustratingly arbitrary. For the Cowboys and Eagles, it’s just another chapter in a saga where the only certainty is more chaos.