More confusion has been added to the controversial ending in the New England Patriots-Carolina Panthers game on Monday night now that there are differing explanations for why there was no penalty on the final play of the game.
The Pats had the ball on the Panthers 18 for the last play of the game. Tom Brady threw a pass to the end zone that would have been difficult for Rob Gronkowski to catch. Gronk was interfered with on the play by Luke Kuechly, and the pass was intercepted by Robert Lester. A penalty flag was thrown, but after the officials met for a conversation, Clete Blakeman announced there was no foul on the play and that the game was over with the Panthers winning 24-20.
Brady went berserk and cursed at Blakeman, but that didn’t matter.
Blakeman said after the game that the penalty was rescinded because the pass from Brady to Gronkowski was not catchable. Dean Blandino, the NFL head of officiating, explained that the penalty was called off because the contact occurred after the ball was touched.
Here was the explanation from Blakeman:
“There were two officials that came in. One was the umpire and the other one was our side judge and there was a discussion at that point as to the, in essence, the catchability of the ball due to its location. So it was determined at that point in time that when the primary contact occurred on the tight end that the ball, in essence, was coming in underthrown and in essence it was immediate at that point intercepted at the front end of the end zone. So there was a determination that, in essence, uncatchability, that the ball was intercepted at or about the same time the primary contact against the receiver occurred.”
Blakeman says the ball was not catchable and that’s why there was no foul on the play. In an interview with NFL Network Tuesday, Blandino provided a different explanation.
“The back judge is going to see restriction right there and he’s going to throw his flag for that restriction,” Blandino said via Pro Football Talk. “The side judge who had Dobson, his mechanics are once the ball is in the air he’s going to go to the ball and he’s going to focus on the interception. After the play – you’ll see the flag come out – the back judge is going to signal to the side judge and they’re going to get together and have a discussion. What they’re going to talk about is when did the restriction occur in relation to the ball being touched? Because once the ball is touched you cannot have pass interference. This is a judgment call; the officials don’t have the use of replay. They don’t have slow motion replay and ultimately they ruled that the restriction occurred simultaneously with the ball being touched. When you watch it at full speed, you could see why they would make that call on the field.”
They’re not even on the same page explaining why there wasn’t a penalty.
Mike Pereira, who is a former VP of Officiating for the NFL and current rules analyst for FOX, had what seemed to be the most sensible opinion.
My thoughts..Since the flag was thrown they should have stayed with the call. There was clear contact before the ball was intercepted. More.
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) November 19, 2013
You could make a case that the pass might have been uncatachable, but the flag was thrown and you should stay with it. My thoughts
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) November 19, 2013
To me, the correct call would have been defensive holding, which would have give the Pats five yards and an automatic first down. That seems like it would have been the most fair outcome.
