With the Patriots driving for a go-ahead score in Baltimore on Sunday night, it appeared they were going to pick up 50 yards on a splash play one way or another.
From his own 44-yard line, Drake Maye uncorked a deep ball for Kayshon Boutte with 3:19 to play. The wideout tried to make the catch inside the 10-yard line, but Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey tackled him before the ball arrived.
While Boutte was being pulled to the turf, he still made a play on the ball and almost hauled it in, but lost control as he thudded to the ground. Either way, the Patriots thought they’d be getting a flag for blatant pass interference.
It never came out, however.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he never got an explanation on the non-call either. Officials just tried to explain why it wasn’t a catch to him, which the coach already understood.
“No, no,” Vrabel said. “Here’s the explanation I got: You have to survive the ground. I said, ‘I’m very aware of the catch rule.’ But that’s all I got.”
It wasn’t just fans and Patriots players who were flummoxed. NBC announcers Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth were stunned at the no-call, too. Tirico had rules analyst Terry McAulay explain why it wasn’t a catch and then offered a blunt follow-up for the former referee.
“This is an even harder question,” Tirico said. “Why wasn’t that pass interference?”
Apparently, McAulay felt the same way as the rest of the viewing audience.
“It’s not that hard. That was pass interference,” McAulay said.
Maye and company bounced back from the no-call and scored on the drive anyway, ultimately beating the Ravens, 28-24. They had to do it without Boutte though, as the wide receiver suffered a head injury on the play and didn’t return to the game.
