Referee Pete Morelli has explained his decision to overturn a pass interference call in the wildcard-round playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions.

The Lions were driving downfield when quarterback Matt Stafford attempted to find Brandon Pettigrew, but under pressure from Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens the pass fell complete.

However, the back judge threw a flag for pass interference, but after a delay Morelli and his crew decided to alter the call in favour of the Cowboys, which proved to be critical for the home side in their victory.

"The back judge threw his flag for defensive pass interference," Morelli said in a statement. "We got other information from another official from a different angle that thought the contact was minimal and didn't warrant pass interference. He thought it was face guarding.

"The information came and then the officials got together a little bit later after it was given to me, the first information. It probably would've been smoother if we got together."

The victory for the Cowboys was their first in the post-season since the 2009 campaign.