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THERE WAS A PAUSE. It was Aug. 9, inside Roger Goodell's sixth-floor office at the NFL's Park Avenue headquarters in New York City -- down the hall, past the executives' offices and his assistant's desk, and through a large, thick wooden door that is both imposing and usually left open to serve as a welcome. Goodell huddled over a speakerphone with general counsel Jeff Pash. On the other end was Jerry Jones. Adhering to the protocol of giving owners a 48-hour heads-up before a major disciplinary issue involving their team is announced, Goodell and Pash informed Jones that after a 13-month domestic violence inquiry, the Dallas Cowboys' star running back, Ezekiel Elliott, would face punishment -- a six-game suspension.