After the dust settled, the referees tried to explain themselves, and the football world once again honed in on the events at AT&T Stadium, what’s left is respect. Whether the Detroit Lions deserved to lose by confusing the officials or the Dallas Cowboys were lucky to escape with their 20-19 win is up to each individual and their smattering of biases, rooting interests, and sense of gridiron justice. The fact remains that Dallas won, has an easy path to an NFC East title, and could very well see Detroit again. With a win in Week 18 and over the seventh seed in the NFC, the Cowboys could host the Lions, should they beat the eventual sixth seed in the Wild Card round. Both teams have acknowledged that possibility and remained civil after the game, despite the officiating theatrics that ended Saturday’s game.

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott specifically spoke about the respect he has for Lions head coach Dan Campbell after the game. “From the punt conversion that they got to one of the early fourth downs, I said, ‘This guy is crazy!’” Prescott said. “And respect with the craziness, talking about Coach Campbell and I love it. I really do. I mean that’s you playing to win the game and not lose a game and that’s what he did …” It was no surprise that the Lions went for two in the final minute of regulation in an attempt to win the game. Sending it to overtime, in a way, is relying on fate—a correctly chosen coin toss, an opening drive touchdown, and the complications of a potential tie. Trying to win in regulation isn’t traditional, but in an era of aggressive coaching, headlined by Campbell, everyone in the building expected Detroit to try and win the game. They did and, ultimately, failed, perhaps by no fault of their own. But Campbell was never going to attempt the extra point, even after a false start penalty knocked them behind the five-yard line. He’s a coach who invigorated a city and its fan base by playing aggressively as an underdog. The NFC North champions don’t intend on leaving that identity behind because a playoff spot is secured.