Cowboys long snapper left confused by 'snap infraction' penalty that pushed back last-second field goal try

Cowboys long snapper L.P. Ladouceur was confused and frustrated Sunday after he was called for a controversial "snap infraction" penalty in the closing moments of the Dallas Cowboys' 20-17 loss to the Washington Redskins.

"It sucks," he told reporters after the game.

Ladouceur, a 13-year veteran, was penalized after adjusting the positioning of his hands on the ball before a 47-yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game. When he moved his hands, multiple Redskins defensive linemen jumped offsides. The 5-yard penalty resulted in a 52-yard attempt, which kicker Brett Maher ricocheted off the upright. 

"They told me I was the one responsible for the false start and I did the same exact thing I usually do," Ladouceur said after the game, according to The Dallas Morning News. "I did the exact same thing, the guy just jumped.

"I just adjust it down so I can put my hands on the bottom of it so I can snap it in the right direction. ... Exact same thing I've been doing for 14 years."

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said officials told him "they saw our long snapper do something that they think caused the defensive linemen to be offsides."

NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron later explained in a statement on Twitter that "the illegal ball movement by the center ... causes the defense to come across the neutral zone and contact a lineman."

Maher refused to blame his missed field goal on the snap infraction penalty, but the call nevertheless left Cowboys fans seething – and was panned by several media personalities, NBC analyst Tony Dungy among them.

"This was a terrible call," Dungy said on NBC on Sunday night. "An illegal snap has to be abrupt movement or something unusual. The Dallas center is neither one of those – he's not abrupt and he's not unusual. That is his normal motion."

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.