The overturned touchdown in the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday has caught the ire of many, but New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has no issue with the call.
Steelers tight end Jesse James scored on what appeared to be a 10-yard reception, which would have given his team a 27-24 lead with 28 seconds to go. It did not stand, however, after officials ruled James failed to maintain control of the ball when he hit the ground.
"I know the rules," Manning told Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. "I was watching the game live, you see it, and it doesn't look like an incompletion at all. Once they slow it down and see him (James) going to the ground and the ball hitting the ground, incompletion.
"You hate it, when you're watching it live, you don't even think about that not being a catch. When they run it down, hey, when you go to the ground you got to finish with the ball in your hand. When it hits the ground and there's movement, I was like, 'I think that's enough evidence where they're gonna reverse that."
Though many have suggested the catch rule needs to be changed, Manning isn't of the same opinion.
"I think there's probably more questions on whether it was a catch or not before this rule," Manning said. "There was kinda, 'It looks like a catch, what are the exact rules?' They made it definitive in saying, 'These are the rules and it’s gonna be called fairly and equally every way.'"
