Why Kelvin Benjamin’s touchdown against the Patriots was overturned
Kelvin Benjamin came SO close to giving the Bills a halftime lead.
The Buffalo Bills were as close to a halftime lead over the New England Patriots as they could possibly get, but officials determined a pass to Kelvin Benjamin was incomplete after it was originally ruled a touchdown.
No matter your rooting interests or thoughts on the call, there’s no doubt that it was razor close either way.
Benjamin made a great catch in the back corner of the end zone and got both feet down — another angle confirmed his left foot dragged briefly — but the question is whether or not he had control before his left toe lifted off the field.
The officials ruled it a touchdown, but after a review, decided that he did not have both feet down at the time of control.
In #BUFvsNE, when Kelvin Benjamin gains control, his left foot is off the ground. The receiver only has one foot down in bounds with control. Therefore, it is an incomplete pass. -AL
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) December 24, 2017
After the incompletion, the Bills settled for a field goal to go to halftime tied with the Patriots, 13-13. There are heavy playoff implications for both teams with Buffalo fighting the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens for a Wild Card berth, and the Patriots trying to hold off the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars for the top seed in the AFC.
A touchdown would’ve put the Bills in great shape to pull off the upset, but Buffalo is still in good shape heading into the second half. It remains to be seen if the four points come back to haunt Buffalo.