I know it was not the point of the game, but hardly any reporter is stating the fact that the refs got the call wrong. It was a touchback, and there is no reasonable doubt about it.
Even Phil Simms demonstrated the proof that it was a touchback, at the time, using the same replay footage the refs had access to: just draw a straight line from where the ball landed to where it left his hand on the rear overhead shot. Now, it is possible the ball curved, and plus it is difficult to take into account the fact that the ball is a couple of feet of the ground when it leaves his hand, but those factors only matter if the line is close, and it's not. It was about 20 yards further downfield than would have been possible if it did not go over the goal line in bounds. Also, you must take into account the width of the football, because if any part goes over the pylon, it is in bounds, so the ball's trajectory would have had to have been at a very sharp angle for it to not have gone through the end zone, and it's just not possible given where it landed.
It really tainted the game (which, granted, was already well-tainted by the turnovers). I wonder if the head of NFL officiating will cop to the mistake this week; he usually does.
It's not that the refs lost the game. It's like the USC/UT game (the OTHER Patriots head coach going for his third straight championship): USC screwed up and lost the game, but that doesn't give a pass to the officials who simply blew the call. Except there, they didn't have replay access, and here they did.
This just in: a zebra just now threw another flag on Asante Samuel, from his home in Detroit. He wasn't at the game, but he says he is absolutely sure Samuel committed pass interference on that interception.
