WATCH: Refs botch call in Cowboys-Giants Thursday night game by penalizing the wrong team for a facemask

The gaffe occurred in the first quarter of action

The officiating crew in the game between the Giants and Cowboys got off to a rough start on Thursday night when they called a penalty on the wrong team. 

The gaffe came during the first quarter of action while New York was driving. The Giants had a second-and-7 from the Cowboys' 37-yard line and they appeared to set up a third-and-3 after Daniel Jones ran for four yards on the play. The third-and-3 never happened though, because Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger got flagged for a facemask. 

The officiating error here is that Bellinger shouldn't have been penalized. On the play, it's pretty clear that Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown grabbed Bellinger's facemask and not the other way around. 

Since Bellinger got flagged, the Giants got hit with a 15-yard penalty, which set them up with a second-and-18 from the Cowboys' 48-yard line. If the officials had correctly flagged Overshown, then the Giants would have been set up with a first-and-10 at the Cowboys' 18-yard line. That's a difference of 30 yards for the Giants, who ended up getting a 52-yard field goal from Greg Joseph on the drive. 

The field goal from Joseph ended up being the only points the Giants got in the first quarter. At the end of one, the Cowboys led New York 7-3. If you want to see the current score of the game along with a live breakdown, be sure to check out our live blog by clicking here.