FOXBORO, Mass. -- Officials deemed New England Patriots wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk out of bounds on a crunch-time play against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon.
Polk initially was awarded a touchdown on his 12-yard reception in the back of the end zone. But upon further review, Polk's heel was deemed out of bounds. It took his touchdown off the board and ultimately helped the Dolphins claim a 15-10 victory at Gillette Stadium.
PFWA pool reporter Mike Reiss interviewed vice president of officiating George Stewart after Miami's win and asked him about the overturned call.
"The rule that was applied was the toe-heel rule," Stewart told Reiss, per the Patriots. "What happened was he did have one foot down in the field of play and at the completion of the second step, he had his toe in the field of play, but his heel came down on the white line out of bounds. So, he did not have two feet in bounds at the conclusion of the catch."
When asked about the elements which led to the overturn call, Stewart doubled down and said Polk did not have both feet in bounds.
"Just like I said, he did not have two feet in the field of play. It was a toe-heel, it wasn't a drag. It was a toe-heel that caused this to be an incomplete pass."
For it to have been considered a touchdown, Polk needed to have both feet down in the field of play and not on the white endline, Stewart confirmed.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said he believed the correct call was made. Polk, though, believed he made the catch and teammates backed him.
