Several people thought Hunter Henry caught his second touchdown pass of the game in the middle of the third quarter in the New England Patriots' 33-26 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night.
However, following a several-minute-long review, Henry's catch on third-and-goal was wiped off the board as it was determined he didn't have full control of the ball when he went to the ground and reached for the goal line.
The reversal certainly confused many people, including Henry, but NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Walt Anderson thought it was a pretty clear-cut call.
āHe was going to the ground, the ball ended up touching the ground and then he lost control of the ball in his hands,ā Anderson told pool reporter Mike Reiss following the game.
Even though Anderson said that Hunter Henry lost control of the ball, the tight end was confident that he had full control of the ball on the play, saying that his hand was still under the ball when the ball bounced up but remained in his hands.
This catch by Hunter Henry was called incomplete š¤https://t.co/PqKqyStiph
ā ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 25, 2022
Anderson explained why Henry wasn't granted possession before the ball hit the ground.
Article Continues BelowāBecause as heās going to the ground, he has to maintain control of the ball upon contacting the ground,ā Anderson said. āThe term thatās commonly used is āsurviving the groundā ā a lot of people refer to that. So, as heās going to the ground, he has the elements of two feet and control, but because heās going to the ground, he has to maintain control of the ball when he does go to the ground.ā
Hunter Henry: Believe I caught the ball; they made the call, have to live with it. pic.twitter.com/gtYGk0PENK
ā Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 25, 2022
Anderson said that even though Hunter Henry had two hands on the ball during the play, it didn't matter because he didn't have full control of it while it was in his hands.
āWell, if he had maintained control of the ball with two hands, even if the ball were to touch the ground, if you donāt lose control of the ball after it touches the ground, that would still be a catch,ā Anderson said.
The Patriots don't have much time to be upset about what they might see as a missed call that might have cost them a game. They fell to 6-5 with the loss and face the Buffalo Bills at home next Thursday.