Upon further review, Eagles' second pass interference call iffy

THE FIRST PASS interference call against Byron Maxwell on the drive that allowed the Dallas Cowboys to extend Sunday night's game to overtime, the contact seemed ticky-tacky, but maybe you could see throwing a flag, sort of.

The second one seemed beyond reasonable explanation, other than that Dez Bryant's leap for the ball looked awkward, and maybe the assumption was that somehow Maxwell must have impeded Bryant, before Bryant leaped into Maxwell as the ball fluttered past them.

Maxwell noted Tuesday that officials watch film, just as the players do, and maybe the member of Ed Hochuli's crew who threw the flags was being extra-vigilant for signs that Maxwell was holding, because, "sometimes, I do."

"Dez was grabbing me, actually," on the second play, Maxwell said. "I don't know what he saw. The game moves fast . . . I know that."

Maxwell said the saving grace was that the Eagles won. If they hadn't, returning to practice Tuesday and watching film of phantom penalties, "I'm feeling a lot worse."

Defensive coordinator Bill Davis was asked his view of Maxwell's coverage on the two calls.

"You know, pass interference is frustrating, but we talk about it with the players all the time. His technique was good, it really was. He was sound," Davis said. "The second one, it really looked to me that he was actively playing the ball. To me, usually, an official says, 'OK, there's two men, the ball is in the air and it can be either man's ball. If they both go for the ball, there's no harm, no foul.' If we try to restrict (the receiver) from catching it and not go for the ball, they usually call us for pass interference.

"My interpretation, it just looked like he was going up for the ball and then he contacted him there. But it's irrelevant what my interpretation is, or Maxwell's, or anybody's. The officials call it like they see it, so we've got to play."

Davis said all the coaches can do is "harp on technique." He noted that one reason the Eagles have forced 20 turnovers is "we believe it's our ball, and Maxwell believed it, and he was trying to go for it."

Davis recalled that Maxwell did get a crucial call, when Dallas receiver Terrance Williams pushed Maxwell in the back, preventing him from possibly intercepting a pass and allowing Williams to score a touchdown that was waved off.

Though Jason Peters told Daily News columnist Marcus Hayes Sunday night that Peters will return this week against Miami, Peters did not take part in Tuesday's light practice. The offensive line was the same as in Dallas - Lane Johnson, Allen Barbre, Jason Kelce, Matt Tobin and Dennis Kelly.

Johnson false-started twice in his left tackle debut Sunday night, giving him a whopping seven of those this season, in eight games. Johnson said he looks forward to a home crowd and less noise this week.

"It's going to be a lot easier for me, to just go on the cadence this week," Johnson said. "I'm tired of it, too. It's not good. The past two seasons, I haven't had any problems with it. I don't know why it's such a big deal now, but it's something I've got to get corrected."

Johnson said he thinks Peters is "expecting to play."

"We need him. He's one of the best players there is. We get him over there, get me back on the right side, everybody's feeling comfortable, we'll do some damage this weekend."

Rookie corner Eric Rowe was one of the Eagles who couldn't get off a block and tackle Lucky Whitehead on that 79-yard Dallas kickoff return, following Jordan Hicks' pick-six.

"Everybody had, like, a little mental error. It wasn't anything drastic," Rowe said. He said the return was set up to the other side, and the coverage flowed that way, opening a backside hole Whitehead exploited.

"They had nice blocking and they had that small, little crease, and that was all they needed," Rowe said. "The returner made a nice cut and bounced it to our right. It threw us off just enough to where he could have that little lane."

Wideout Nelson Agholor (high ankle) practiced, but that was also the case last week, then Agholor did not play in Dallas . . . Safety Malcolm Jenkins did not practice, but Jenkins is not being treated for injury, a league source said . . . Some Dallas fans decided via social media that their team's overtime fate was unfairly sealed at the coin flip. Their contention was that Chris Maragos called "heads" and ref Ed Hochuli thought he said "tails," which was the correct side. Maragos said Tuesday that he definitely said tails, and that he takes tails each time.

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian