Controversial call gives Steelers win over Ravens, AFC North title
With their 13-9 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers captured the AFC North title and a first-round bye in the postseason. But their win didn’t come without a little controversy, which is something that the Steelers have become accustomed to this season.
Down 9-6 with under a minute remaining in the game and facing a third and goal from the Baltimore 4 yard line, Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger found receiver Santonio Holmes on a broken pass play. Holmes was ruled down at the one-inch line after his momentum carried him out of the end zone, but the play was overturned by replay and Pittsburgh was awarded the eventual game-winning touchdown.
Even after looking at the replay multiple times, there’s no way officials had a definitive camera angle to determine that the ball was across the goal line. And considering the original call on the field was that it wasn’t a touchdown, it’s amazing the call was overturned. Doesn’t there have to be indisputable visual evidence to overturn a call?
The controversy comes in not only because of the fishy decision to overturn the call, but also because had the play not be overturned, the Steelers would have had a fourth and goal at the Ravens’ one-inch line. Maybe Mike Tomlin would have kicked the field goal to possibly force overtime. Maybe Pittsburgh would have gone for it and scored anyway. Or maybe the Ravens come up with a goal line stand and win the game. We’ll never know, which of course is the most frustrating part about all of this.
In a perfect NFL world, a game would never be decided by an official’s replay decision. But as we’ve seen multiple times this season, this isn’t a perfect NFL world.
Posted in: Fantasy Football, NFL
Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, NFL Week 15, NFL Week 15 game recaps, Pittsburgh Steelers, Santonio Holmes, Santonio Holmes controversial touchdown against Ravens, Steelers beat Ravens, Steelers win AFC North, Steelers-Ravens controversial call
I think the ruling was that he had both feet in the endzone and control of the ball, so it didn’t matter if the ball crossed the goal line. It would be the same as if a runner came down the sideline and got his feet in past the pylon but the ball was hanging out over the sideline. That’s a TD too even though the ball itself doesn’t break the plane.
What? The ball doesn’t have to break the plane of the goal line? I get the pylon play, but I’m pretty sure you have to have two feet down and have the ball break the plane.
We do NOT see all the footage that the booth officials see. Also he had control of the ball in one view where the tip of the ball was on the line. This is a touchdown. Plain and simple. I am so tired of people talking crap about the Steelers. Where was everyone when the total amount of penalties was 13-2 against the Steelers? And people wonder why Steelers fans are so defensive. Ridiculous!
Gee, sounds like someone’s a ravens fan…
Oh come on, guys. I’m not a Raven fan – I’m a die hard Falcons fan if you really must know. (Not that that matters.)
And I was one of the first ones on the web to throw this up on our site when it happened:
http://www.scoresreport.com/2008/11/16/vegas-must-have-decided-the-
end-of-steelerschargers-game/
Just because I thought it was a controversial call doesn’t mean I like the Ravens or was rooting against the Steelers. You can be as defensive as you want, but check out my other writings on the Steelers before you get it with me:
http://www.scoresreport.com/tag/pittsburgh-steelers/
DarcZombie-
We do see ALL the anles the officials see. There are nor secret NFL cameras in the stadium. It was bad call, but as Ray Lewis said, you can’t blame the game on one call.
I’m just relaying what the ref said when he made the call. If I remember correctly, he didn’t say anything about the plane, but according to the NFL Rules Digest, which says the following…
“When any part of the ball, legally in possession of a player inbounds, breaks the plane of the opponent’s goal line, provided it is not a touchback.”
…says that it does indeed have to break the plane. That always got me about the pylon play. The runner would just sneak his feet inside the pylon but the ball would be out of bounds (and maybe not even break the plane until after he’s out of bounds. But they ALWAYS call that a TD.
As for this play, it appeared in super slow mo that the tip of the ball crossed the goal line, but even in high def, it was really f’ng fuzzy.
DarcZombie – Wrong. We do see all the angles that the refs see. That has been reported many times over the years, so get it right.
Your actually both wrong
1st the pylon rule was changed the ball now has to cross inside to be a TD
and 2nd the ball does not have to cross the line
According to the NFL Digest of rules:
“A receiver is deemed to be in possession of a catch when both feet touch down in bounds while the receiver demonstrates control of the football. Should a receiver make a legal catch of the ball with both feet in bounds in the end zone, a touchdown shall be awarded even if no part of the ball was deemed to break the plane of the goal line while in possession of the receiving player.”
The “breaking the plane” rule is for a runner, or once a receiver becomes a runner. That is why the ref emphasized the fact that both of Holmes’ feet were down. The commentators are stirring up a lot of controversy because none of them know this aspect of the rule. It will all be cleared up by the end of the day tomorrow, when the NFL releases a statement confirming that since Holmes’ feet both clearly touched down in the end zone, the catch was properly deemed a touchdown.
so that WAS a touchdown.
Tony:
Great post!
I’d like to know the actual rule, and I hope the NFL does clarify it today. If all that is required is possession and two feet down in the end zone, then overturning the call was the correct thing to do. If the ball had to break the plane of the zone, it was a bad decision to overturn it. According to Tony, the correct call was made, so right now I’m ok with it. I’m a Ravens fan, and we’re used to getting screwed on every close call, so this comes as no surprise.
But, on the other hand, the Ravens had several chances to put the game away, and didn’t stop big Ben and Co. when they needed to. If you don’t do those things, don’t depend on the refs to smile upon you over the question of an inch or two here or there, because it’s just as likely as not that he broke the plane anyway, and like Tony said, the feet were clearly down.
If the Ravens don’t make the playoffs, I hope the black and gold go all the way. I’m not a sore loser.
So I did hear the ref correctly. It’s funny that no one in the studio, in the van or in the booth knew the details of the rule. Costas and Collinsworth kept showing the slo-mo video of the catch to see if he broke the plane.
The Ball must break the plain… of the goal line plain and simple. The Ball didn’t. and for the people that are saying it’s just like the balls cought outside the td with the feet in the endzone… think before you type… HOW exactly does the person stand in the endzone and the ball is passed to him at somepoint the ball broke the plain of the goal line… unless somehow someway the QB decided to run out of bounds and at the last split second seen his reciever open and dives and throws the ball down the sideline outta bounds and by some mircle the reciever catches the ball and keeps both feet inbounds and keeps control of the ball while he falls. that is the only Instance in which the ball would never Technically cross the plain of the goal line in a TD situation, and if that were to EVER happen by some Mircle.. screw it… they deserve the 6 points
Good catch but in no way did the ball ever cross the plain. this is along the lines of the same officiating fiasco pulled against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl and as usual The Stoolers benefit from it. Not only where they handed the AFC North on a silver platter but it screwed up the entire AFC playoff picture. Way to go refs. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again…The officials should be wearing black and yellow stripes instead of white.