Even Al Michaels couldn’t believe what he had just seen as a bizarre Sunday of NFL officiating continued.
On a second-down play late in the second quarter from the Eagles’ 35-yard line, Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky threw a deep pass down the right side to Anthony Miller. The receiver appeared to have control of the ball and took three steps before defender Cre’von LeBlanc stripped the ball loose near the Eagles’ 5-yard line. The ball was out before Miller hit the ground.
The closest official called the play dead, waving his arms as if to say it was an incomplete pass, causing both teams to ignore the free ball and walk back to the original line of scrimmage.
After a booth review, referee Tony Corrente said the ruling was that the play would be considered an incomplete pass because there was no clear recovery. It became third down, and the Bears were given the ball back. So, had a player jumped right on the ball, it would have been ruled a catch.
The outcome baffled Michaels, his broadcast partner Cris Collinsworth and NFL rules expert Terry McAulay in the NBC booth.
Michaels, who has been calling NFL games for more than two decades, jokingly asked McAulay, “They’re not making this up on the fly, are they?”
McAulay answered: “It does seem that way.”
A tweet from NFL officiating head Al Riveron said that while the play should have been ruled a catch, because it was called incomplete, the crew was correct on its ruling after the review.
“In #PHIvsCHI, the receiver controlled the ball with two feet down & took an additional step, so it was a catch,” Riveron wrote. “However, because he was not down by contact & there was ‘no video evidence of a clear recovery or the ball going out of bounds’, the ruling of incomplete stands.”
That play came after a ruling of a non-fumble by Chargers running back Melvin Gordon negated a scoop-and-score and helped change the momentum of Los Angeles’ eventual 23-17 win over the Ravens in an AFC wild-card game earlier in the day.