The Rams pulled off the upset of the season against Seattle, but it came with a bit of controversy. The Seahawks were steamed after the game because of the official ruling following a late fumble by Rams running back Tre Mason.
Mason coughed the ball up with just over one minute remaining after picking up what should have been a game-sealing first down. The officials ruled that the ball was recovered by the Rams' Cory Harkey, even though video reviews appeared to show that Harkey lost the ball into a pile of players.
Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman told NFL Media's Steve Wyche after the game that he had possession of the late fumble by the Rams. NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino explained after the game on Twitter that a player coming out of a pile with a loose ball is not evidence of a clear recovery. The replay officials need video proof of a clear recovery, and there were no shots of that. The ball was still loose when it went into the pile.
Seahawks coach Pete Carrollwas upset that the play was not reviewed, but Blandino said the replay officials in New York did in fact look at "all the possible angles."
Harkey, for what it's worth, claims he wound up with the ball. He said he was fighting with his teammate Mike Person for it.
"We were both fighting for the ball and I ended up with it," Harkey said, via ESPN.com. "As long as one of us ended up with it, that's all that mattered."
We'll probably never know who really got the ball, but this wound up being a case where the call on the field stood because there wasn't great video proof to show it was wrong.
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