The NFL is standing by its decision on the controversial ending to the Seattle Seahawks loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
With the Seahawks trailing by three points and driving into 49ers territory, wide receiver Cooper Kupp appeared to reach the ball past the line to gain on fourth down. But officials ruled that he was out of bounds, giving the ball back to the 49ers and essentially ending the game.
After the game, a top NFL official defended the call.
NFL Explains Cooper Kupp Call
Pool reporter Brady Henerson spoke after the game with Mark Butterworth, the league’s vice president of instant replay. Reporter Tom Pelissero of The Ringer shared a transcript of the conversation, with Butterworth explaining that the league reviewed the play but found no evidence to overturn the call on the field.
“Because it’s the end of the game and really a game-deciding call on the field, we purposely stopped the game to look at the entirety of the play,” Butterworth said. “With all of the available angles, including our boundary line cameras, there was no video evidence to overturn the call on the field. A key thing to remember is we are looking at when the ball breaks from green, the field of play, to white, out of bounds. There was nothing clear and obvious to overturn the call on the field.”
Seahawks Lost Opportunity to Seize NFC West
The Seahawks came into the game with a chance to hand the 49ers their first loss and grab control of the division at 3-1, but the loss instead dropped them two games behind San Francisco.
After the game, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said he didn’t want to quibble over the call against Kupp on fourth down.
“I don’t know. They said he was short, so you’ve got to live with it,” Macdonald said.
NFL Explains Controversial Cooper Kupp Call in Seahawks Loss