As the Vikings attempted to mount a comeback against the Eagles on Sunday, their efforts were stalled in part because a touchdown catch by tight end T.J. Hockenson was overturned.

Facing third-and-2 at the Philadelphia 15 with a little over three minutes to play, Carson Wentz threw a pass to Hockenson in the end zone and it was called a touchdown. Upon review from New York, the play was overturned as it was ruled Hockenson did not maintain possession of the football as he went to the ground.

Per ESPN reporter Kevin Seifert, Hockenson was heated about the overturned touchdown after the game. Hockenson said that two referees on the field told him they believed it was a touchdown, even after the play got overturned.

"There was nothing to overturn it," Hockenson said after the game. "I mean, I was out there. I felt it, hands under the ball, snag it and I don't understand. I don't obviously understand the catch rule at this point. ... They got to figure it out. New York can't call in and say that it's not a catch when every other ref out there says it is. That's all there is too it. It would've given us an [opportunity] at the end. It’s just crazy.”

The vice president of instant replay, Mark Butterworth, explained the decision to overturn the touchdown to Seifert, saying, “The ruling on the field was a touchdown, so it’s replay’s jurisdiction to stop the game. We used broadcast-enhanced shots to show that as he was going to the ground—he needs control of the ball throughout the process of the catch—he lost control of the ball. The ball hit the ground. Then he regained control of the ball. So therefore, we overturned it to an incomplete pass.”

Even if the touchdown stood, it still would have been tough for the Vikings to pull off the comeback. The Vikings ended up settling for a field goal, and the Eagles sealed the victory on the ensuing drive with a deep pass to A.J. Brown.

Because it was taken off the board, the Vikings used a minute more of clock before settling for a field goal, crucial when Minnesota was down by nine points. Had the touchdown counted, the Vikings had a better chance at getting the ball back to try to score a game-winning field goal.

Outside of the Hockenson call, the Vikings also had a touchdown catch by Jalen Nailor taken off the board early in the game to a questionable holding penalty on guard Blake Brandel. The penalty cost the Vikings points as they settled for a field goal.

"I got to get some clarification just on the holding call," head coachKevin O'Connell said after the game. "Seemed to be a pretty routine play. That's the way it goes sometimes."

More NFL on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Vikings' T.J. Hockenson Had Fiery Message About NFL Overturning TD Catch.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate