No explanation was probably ever going to be good enough to quell the masses after the New England Patriots’ potential game-winning touchdown was overturned by officials in Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
The play occurred on a touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk, who got one foot and a toe down in the back of the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
Initially, the play was believed to be a touchdown, especially after the replay showed the receiver getting both feet inbounds. The cheers immediately turned to boos once the officials overturned the call after giving the play a second look.
But how was that not a catch?
NFL VP of officiating George Stewart answered that question when asked about the play by ESPN’s Mike Reiss during the post-game scrum.
“The rule that was applied was the toe-heel rule,” said Stewart. “What happened was he did have one foot down in the field of play and at the completion of the second step, he had his toe in the field of play, but his heel came down on the white line out of bounds. So, he did not have two feet in bounds at the conclusion of the catch.
“He did not have two feet in the field of play. It was a toe-heel, it wasn’t a drag. It was a toe-heel that caused this to be an incomplete pass.”
NFL VP of Officiating George Stewart told pool reporter @MikeReiss that #Patriots WR Ja’Lynn Polk’s touchdown was overturned because “he did not have two feet in the field of play. It was a toe-heel, it wasn’t a drag.” pic.twitter.com/lbIYbeCpST
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 6, 2024
The Patriots obviously can’t hang their hat on this call as the only reason why they failed to come away with the victory against the Dolphins. There were plenty of plays left on the field on Sunday.
However, it’s still disappointing that the difference between a catch and no catch was a mere toe drag in the back of the end zone.
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