The NFL's senior vice president of officiating, Al Riveron, stands by the decision of Sunday's officiating crew to overturn a touchdown scored by New York Jets tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins against the New England Patriots.
Riveron called the review decision "clear and obvious," according to ESPN.
The ball was loose when Seferian-Jenkins was in the air and contacted by a defender, making it a fumble. The player needs to re-establish possession before touching anything out of bounds, which Seferian-Jenkins did not do, according to Riveron.
Riveron said the competition committee is likely to re-evaluate the rule giving the defense the ball when the offensive player loses control out of the end zone, but the current application of the rule was applied correctly in this instance.
"This has been something that has been brought forth to the competition committee on numerous occasions, and I'm sure we'll talk about it again. We might not agree with the rule, but that is the rule, so the rule was enforced correctly," Riveron said.
