To the experts in the booth, overturning the catch was beyond comprehension.
Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, who have seen and played, respectively, a lot of football in their lifetimes, did not even know what the officials in the Patriots-Steelers showdown were reviewing before the no-catch ruling that stunned and enraged everyone outside of New England.
After Ben Roethlisberger found tight end Jesse James for a 10-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the most hyped matchup of the year, giving Pittsburgh the lead, officials went to the replay booth to check … something. Nantz and Romo, for the longest time, were confused about the buildup to the overturned, no-catch call that let the Patriots slip into control of the AFC.
“He’s down, but no one touches him,” Romo said, repeatedly watching replays of James corralling the pass, then diving toward the end zone ball-first. “So he’s gonna get in the end zone. This is gonna stand, unless he gets touched.”
“No, he’s in,” Nantz said, seeing safety Duron Harmon didn’t make contact with James until the end zone. “He never got touched.”
The two already were talking about the ensuing extra-point try, missing that the ball shifted upon James’ contact with the ground.
“They are verifying it upstairs,” Nantz said. “And there’s no doubt it’s going to hold up.”
It slowly began to dawn on him.
“I don’t know why this is taking so long to review because clearly Harmon’s nowhere close to him,” Nantz said. “Unless they’re looking at the football, did it wiggle or anything to the ground? Well, it looks like a touchdown to me. … Are they looking for the football possibly losing control here?”
That’s when the former Cowboys star saw it, and his voice kicked up a few octaves.
“Oh, that’s what it is Jim. They don’t think he caught it!” Romo said. “Oh boy! Let’s see that again. That’s exactly right. Does he maintain control right here? Does it bobble? Oh, guys. Did he have control? This could go either way. That ball moves in his hand.”
Soon enough, the official was telling the world James’ catch did not “survive the ground.”
“Unbelievable,” Nantz said.