Jesse Reed
Late in the first half as the New England Patriots hosted the Houston Texans, Rob Gronkowski hauled in a beautiful juggling pass.
Or did he?
It sure looked like Gronk never had full possession, and the ball came out.
Catch or no catch? pic.twitter.com/5TI2H2ftwz
— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) September 9, 2018
The officials in the booth did not stop the game — it was in the two-minute warning period, meaning any review comes from the booth — and the Patriots lined up quickly and ran another play.
A few plays later, Tom Brady hit Phillip Dorsett for a touchdown.
Twitter users had some pretty opinionated reactions to this controversial play, with some taking aim at Texans head coach Bill O’Brien for not calling a timeout to give the booth more time to look at the so-called catch.
Bill O'Brien is going to be a highly sought after offensive coordinator candidate this coming offseason. Not calling a timeout after that Gronkowski catch was malpractice. What a bad coaching effort from the Texans sideline.
— Walker Carey (@walkerRcarey) September 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/Fox26Mike/status/1038857907922771974
Gronkowski doesn’t make a catch and then the NFL doesn’t choose to review? No challenge available since there is less than 2 minutes. Seems like the refs are already playing for the Pats this year. #NEvsHOU #NFLSunday #bs
— Driver (@grd8901) September 9, 2018
Gronkowski with a real nice catch that wasn’t a catch. That’s pretty much leading to a TD. Lol Houston.
— Emerson (@EmmoK20) September 9, 2018
Others pointed to the inconsistency of NFL officials, as the Julio Jones play Thursday night was ruled incomplete despite what many viewed as a clear catch.
https://twitter.com/jordanttrask/status/1038857836090949632
https://twitter.com/blujay7416/status/1038857665785614341
The NFL is nothing if not inconsistent.
