Controversial review takes Hunter Henry touchdown off the board for Patriots

BOSTON — It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a little bit of controversy. And we got a fresh serving of it in the third quarter of the Patriots-Vikings game.

The Patriots appeared to take a 29-23 lead over the Vikings when Mac Jones hit tight end Hunter Henry for a 6-yard touchdown. Henry had to turn his body to make the catch, but was able to get the ball across the plain before he hit the ground.

But it was what happened when Henry hit the turf that led to the controversy. Initially ruled a touchdown, the play was overturned after a lengthy review when officials deemed that Henry didn’t control the ball as he hit the ground.

The ball did move when Henry hit the ground, but it never left his hand or hit the turf. It was Henry’s hand that hit the ground.

Alas, officials saw it as Henry losing control and took the touchdown off the board. It cost the Patriots four points, and New England had to settle for a 26-23 lead after Nick Folk kicked a 25-yard field goal. 

After the game, Henry was adamant that he caught the ball and maintained possession on the play.

“I don’t know. They called what they called. I believe I caught it, but they made the call and we have to live with it,” said Henry.

When he asked for an explanation on the field, Henry said officials told him that the ball hit the ground.

“They said it hit the ground, but my hand was under it,” he said. “My hand was under it even after it hit the ground. But they made the call. That’s it.”

Bill Belichick had nothing to say about the call after the loss.

“Go to the officials with your pool reporter and ask them about the play and let them explain it to you. Isn’t that what you do?” Belichick snapped when asked about the play. 

ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss was the pool reporter and spoke with NFL Senior VP of Officiating Walt Anderson after the game, who said that Henry lost control of the football.

“He was going to the ground, the ball ended up touching the ground, and then he lost control of the ball in his hands,” Anderson said when asked how they determined Henry didn’t maintain control of the ball.

Why didn’t they grant Henry possession before he hit the ground?

“Because he’s going to the ground, he has to maintain control of the ball upon contacting the ground,” Anderson continued. “The term that is commonly used is ‘surviving the ground.’ So, as he’s going to the ground, he has the elements of two feet and control, but because he’s going to the ground, he has to maintain control of the ball when he does go to the ground.”

That would have been Mac Jones’ third touchdown pass of the night. The Patriots did not score again after the call was overturned.

“We need to move on from that play and play the rest of the game. There were other times we could have punched it in and that wouldn’t have been an issue,” said Jones. “We did some good things but not good enough in the long run. One call can’t determine the outcome; we have to do better so it’s not even close.”

Officials had a rough evening, missing a handful of calls for both sides. And the Patriots could have made the overturn a moot point if they were more successful in the red zone, going 0-for-3 and settling for three field goals when they got inside the 20. 

But it certainly looks like the Patriots were robbed of a touchdown, a call that changed the complexion of the game on Thursday night.