The Minnesota Vikings' close loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was marred by a little controversy at the end. With the Vikings trailing, Carson Wentz found TJ Hockenson in the endzone for a touchdown to cut the lead to just two. However, after review, the officials over at New York ruled that the pass was incomplete, as they say Hockenson did not have control of the ball when he landed.
Naturally, Hockenson disagreed heavily with that call. In a surprising twist, though, the Vikings tight end revealed that he wasn't alone in that assessment. According to Hockenson, two of the officials on the field for the game believed that his touchdown grab should have been upheld.
“Hockenson said he had ‘control the whole time' and revealed that two members of referee Bill Vinovich's crew told him they considered the play a catch and touchdown even after it was overturned,” Kevin Seifert of ESPN reported.
“There was nothing to overturn it,” Hockenson said. “I mean, I was out there. I felt it, hands under the ball, snag it and I don't understand. I don't basically understand the catch rule at this point. … I don't understand how New York can call in and just be like, ‘Yeah, that's not a catch,' when there was no evidence that it wasn't. I mean I had it. I think it's ridiculous.”
The overturned touchdown, which happened with around three minutes left in the game, would have put the Vikings in position to potentially steal the game. Should they convert the two-point conversion, Minnesota would be tied with the Eagles with around three minutes left. All they need to do at that point is to get a stop. Kicker Will Reikert hit a 59-yarder earlier in the game as well, giving them a better chance.
Alas, the crew in New York deemed otherwise. All touchdown calls are subject to review, no matter how much time is remaining. The Vikings will now regroup and prepare for a short week against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday next week.
