Pittsburgh Steelers: Tony Corrente explains last-second call
The referee who handed the New England Patriots their 11th win of the season over the Pittsburgh Steelers tries to explain himself.
Ref, Tony Corrente, the man who made the contreversol call that ended the Steelers vs Patriots Week 15 thriller tried to explain the call. What would’ve been the game-winning touchdown reception by Jesse James somehow turned into an interception two plays later.
Now, the Steelers are in second place in the AFC, trying to fight their way back to the top of the conference. But with a loss to the Patriots and only two games remaining, chances are they’ll enter the postseason as the second ranked team once again.
Tony Corrente: "We are inside of two minutes and in order to have a completed pass, a receiver must survive going to the ground. So, in this case, he had control of the football but he was going to the ground and as he hit the ground, ... @TheAthleticPIT
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) December 18, 2017
"... the ball began to roll and rotate and the ball hit the ground. It's the end of it at that point." @TheAthleticPIT
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) December 18, 2017
Q: Does it matter that he wasn't touched and his knee was down? "He lost complete control of the football. So, that was the ruling on the field." @TheAthleticPIT
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) December 18, 2017
For everyone watching, it appeared that Corrente just blew the game with less than 30 seconds left. At the six-yard line, Pittsburgh seemed to defeat their biggest battle of the season and should’ve headed into their last two games with a comfortable two game lead over New England.
It’s safe to say that Corrente isn’t someone Pittsburgh fans are happy with right now. If these two teams meet again in the AFC Championship, something most people are expecting, you can almost guarantee Corrente will not be the man making calls.
Coming down to a last second call isn’t how any team wants to win. Some people say the Steelers should’ve handed Le’Veon Bell the ball at the 10 yard-line and gave him a chance to pound it in, while others say the amount of time meant they needed to pass.
Either way, coming down to a 20 second clock with six yards to go to win the game isn’t how anyone wants to play a game. As upset as the Steelers are, they could’ve been up at the end of the game and put New England in the situation to come back.
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No matter what, though, this game gave Pittsburgh a reason to believe they can beat this team in the playoffs. With so much riding on the line, and down 0-2 in their last two meetings, this team is going to be hunting for the Patriots come January.