Here's why the referees overturned Ja'Lynn Polk's go-ahead touchdown in Patriots loss to Dolphins
The New England Patriots nearly had the win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. With 1:08 remaining in the game, quarterback Jacoby Brissett located Ja'Lynn Polk in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. And based on the initial look, it appeared he had gotten both feet down before going out of bounds. However, […]
The New England Patriots nearly had the win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon.
With 1:08 remaining in the game, quarterback Jacoby Brissett located Ja'Lynn Polk in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. And based on the initial look, it appeared he had gotten both feet down before going out of bounds.
However, the referees reviewed the play briefly and quickly overturned it.
Many Patriots players along with the fans in attendance were noticeable upset.
So after the game, NFL vice president of officiating George Stewart spoke to a pool reporter to explain the decision. Here’s what he had to say:
Question: What was the rule applied in the decision to overturn the touchdown catch by Ja’Lynn Polk?
Stewart: “The rule that was applied was the toe-heel rule. 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.”
Question: What were the elements of the play that were essential to the decision to overturn?
Stewart: “Just like I said, 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.”
Question: For Ja’Lynn Polk to have that be a touchdown catch, he needed to have the heel come down in the field of play and not on the white?
Stewart: “Correct.”
Jerod Mayo was also asked about his take on that play.
“It was close,” the head coach said. “But it was the correct call in my opinion, but I’ll have to go back and watch the film. I saw the replay live. Just a tough call.
And of course, Ja'Lynn Polk drew a crowd of reporters after this controversial moment.
“Nah, my main focus is just letting it go,” Polk said when asked by A to Z Sports whether he received an explanation from officials. “Line back up, we got another opportunity to go score again and do it again.”
“It was a lot of emotion, trying to get everybody going, trying to get everybody hype,” the rookie receiver added. “I just feel like it was a lot of excitement, a lot of energy built up in that moment — just knowing, like, I knew I caught it.”
