NFL explains why it didn’t review Deshaun Watson fumble late in Texans’ win
Some NFL fans were wondering why there wasn’t a fumble called in the final 2 minutes of Texans’ 20-17 win over the Colts on Thursday night in Houston.
Well, it was ruled a fumble. Who recovered it is another question. Officials on the field said it was Watson. Colts linebacker Darius Leonard, who knocked the ball from Watson’s arm, said he got it.
A perhaps bigger question is why there wasn’t a booth review, which is supposed to happen in the final 2 minutes of a half.
Here is the play:
“I punched it out,” Leonard told the Indianapolis Star. “I punched for it, got it out. I had it, and after that, they said it wasn’t a fumble.”
But the NFL later said it was a fumble.
After the game, the NFL Officiating Twitter account offered an explanation for what had happened: Watson recovered his own fumble.
“No clear visual evidence” means there apparently was a review at some point, likely in New York.
It may have been difficult for officials on the field to determine who recovered the fumble, but it seems odd that there wasn’t an official review in Houston.
Heck, Colts coach Frank Reich didn’t realize Watson was ruled to have fumbled.
“The officials, I was trying to get them to review it, but the officials on the sideline told me it was being reviewed, and then the Texans called timeout,” Reich told NFL.com. “That gave them, in New York, even more time to review it. Obviously, they saw it and didn’t think it was a fumble.”
