Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Referee Pete Morelli erred when he overturned Troy Polamalu's interception.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The NFL said the referee made a mistake: Troy Polamalu caught the ball.
The league acknowledged Monday that Referee Pete Morelli erred when he overturned on replay Polamalu's interception of a Peyton Manning pass Sunday in the playoff game between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.
Mike Pereira, the league's vice president of officiating, said in a statement that Morelli should have let the call on the field stand.
"He maintained possession long enough to establish a catch," Pereira said. "Therefore, the replay review should have upheld the call on the field that it was a catch and fumble."
After the reversal, made with 5:26 remaining in Pittsburgh's win over the Colts, Indianapolis went on to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion, cutting the Steelers' lead to 21-18.
On the play, Polamalu made a diving catch of Manning's pass, tumbled with it in his hands and got up to run. As he did, he fumbled the ball, then recovered. Colts coach Tony Dungy challenged and Morelli ruled Polamalu had not completed the catch.
Morelli's explanation
Shortly after the game, Morelli said: "I had the defender catching the ball. Before he got up, he hit it with his leg with his other leg still on the ground. Therefore, he did not complete the catch. And then he lost the ball. It came out, and so we made the play an incomplete pass."
Had the call stood, the Steelers would have had the ball at their own 48 with an 11-point lead.
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