Dez catch reversal dooms Cowboys

— -- Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said it looked to him like Dez Bryant had made a season-saving catch on his fourth-down grab in the fourth quarter that was later overturned on replay, but his team's loss to the Green Bay Packers wasn't due to officiating.

Bryant's leaping, bobbling catch at the Packers 1 on fourth-and-2 was reversed by referee Gene Steratore after Green Bay challenged. Instead of first-and-goal for Dallas, the ball went over to the Packers, who went on to run out the clock on the ensuing drive in the 26-21 victory.

Garrett told Fox Sports after the game that he thought going for it on fourth down "was what we had to do in that situation."

"It was fourth-and-two, and obviously they ruled it a catch on the field. This game wasn't about officiating at all. That certainly was a big play in the ballgame. It looked to me like Dez had two feet down and made a move common to the game, which is a thing they talk about a lot.

"We've seen him a number of times this year reach out and score touchdowns making that same thing. It seemed like he had the ball at the end of the play as well, so all those things factor into it. But this wasn't about officiating. We had 60 minutes to prove that we're the better team, unfortunately we didn't get it done today," he said.

NFL head of officials Dean Blandino explained the reversal on Twitter.

The rule was overturned under a rule that a receiver must "complete the process" on a catch, maintaining control of the ball to enable him to perform an act common to the game. The Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson had a touchdown catch overturned against the Chicago Bears in 2011 due to the rule in a play that drew widespread attention.

On Sunday, the Lions tweeted that they can sympathize with Bryant and the Cowboys.

The reversal of Bryant's catch comes just one week after a controversial non-call on pass interference helped the Cowboys defeat the Lions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.