Catch-rule confusion amplified on big stage
MINNEAPOLIS — Zach Ertz nearly saw his go-ahead touchdown catch that lifted the Eagles to the franchise’s first Super Bowl overturned by the NFL’s confusing catch rule.
“If they had overturned that, I don’t know what would have happened to the city of Philadelphia,” a smiling Ertz said on the stage at U.S. Bank Stadium after the 41-33 victory Sunday.
Ertz caught the ball and took three steps before diving into the end zone. After the ball crossed the goal line, he lost control of it.
It was called an 11-yard touchdown on the field for a 38-33 lead with 2:21 to play. But the play looked similar to the touchdown by Steelers tight end Jesse James that was overturned in a regular-season loss to the Patriots, so there was no certainty about the result of the review.
A catch controversy caused confusion earlier on the NFL’s biggest stage, as well.
Eagles rookie running back Corey Clement hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Nick Foles to put Philadelphia up 29-19 on the New England Patriots with 7:48 remaining in the third quarter.
Clement got two feet in bounds before his toe on his third step touched the white line at the back of the end zone.
The play was called a touchdown on the field, and appeared to be the correct call. But when it went to review, NBC announcers Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth felt strongly Clement’s catch would be overturned as incomplete.
This was based on the NFL’s overturning of several similar calls this season based on a backwards catch rule that commissioner Roger Goodell is making a priority to correct with the competition committee this offseason.
But Al Riveron, the NFL’s head of officiating who was in Minneapolis to review all replays as he had all season from the league headquarters in New York, upheld the call of touchdown on the field by Gene Steratore’s crew.
Crucial forced fumble seals Patriots’ doom
The stage was set for another dramatic Super Bowl comeback for Tom Brady and the Patriots.
That’s when Brandon Graham delivered one of the few defensive highlights in the most prolific offensive game in NFL history, ripping the ball out of Brady’s hands for a fumble.
“When the fourth quarter came we had to go out there and make a stop,” Graham said. “As a defense we hadn’t been doing it all game. The offense carried us all the way through.”
Rookie Derek Barnett recovered the loose ball and Eagles fans began celebrating their first title since winning the 1960 NFL championship.
Brady had made the lategame comeback a specialty in winning a record five Super Bowl titles, including last year’s rally from 28-3 down to beat Atlanta in overtime.
The Eagles showed no sign of slowing Brady on Sunday as he threw for a playoff-record 505 yards and three touchdowns, carving up the defense at will on a night the Patriots did not punt once or turn it over until Brady’s late fumble with New England on its 33 with just more than two minutes left.
That’s when Graham beat Shaq Mason off the line and reached his left hand out for Brady just before he was set to throw. Graham knocked the ball loose and Barnett landed on it in what will go down as one of the most memorable plays in Philadelphia history.
“We said we needed a play,” Graham said. “If we got one more opportunity, we’re going to give everything we’ve got and I just so happened to get there.”
Fans avoid the cold thanks to the dome
The coldest Super Bowl Sunday wasn’t felt inside cozy U.S. Bank Stadium.
The overnight temperature in Minneapolis reached minus-6 degrees and was up to 2 degrees around four hours before kickoff between New England and Philadelphia.
The coldest previous range was the Detroit Super Bowl in 1982, with a low of 5 degrees and a high of 16 when it was played at the Silverdome. There was a chance for the Minneapolis high to soar to 5 on Sunday.