Replay assist might have incorrectly overturned Andrei Iosivas fumble

Replay assist is fine, as long as replay assist is used properly. In the fourth quarter on Monday night’s game in Dallas, it might not have been.

The Bengals faced second and 13 from their 46 with 7:32 to play. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw a short pass to receiver Andrei Iosivas. The ruling on the field was a catch and a fumble forced by Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs. Safety Donovan Wilson recovered the ball and returned it to the Cincinnati 28.

Within seconds, referee Scott Novak said this: “After reviewing the play, the pass was incomplete.”

The standard for overturning the ruling on the field via replay assist is identical to the standard for overturning a ruling via full-blown replay review: The visual evidence must be clear and obvious.

Here’s the play. Iosivas bobbles the ball before securing it with both hands and then tucking it away. The instant it’s tucked away, it’s knocked out.

By rule, a catch happens when the receiver: “(a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and (b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and (c) after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, performs any act common to the game (e.g., tuck the ball away, extend it forward, take an additional step, turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so.” (Emphasis added.)

Iosivas, after the bobble, secured the ball with both hands. Both of his feet were down. He then tucked the ball away, just before it was knocked out.

It all happened fast, but it happened. It looked like a catch and a fumble.

Sure, ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk said, “To me, he gets the ball and he does not get two feet down with control and then perform a football move before the ball comes out. To me, this is incomplete.” Yurk didn’t mention that tucking the ball is one of the specific football moves listed in the rule.

Possession, two feet down, ball tucked away, ball knocked out. There’s no minimum time requirement. It happens as quickly, or as slowly, as it takes to do (a), (b), and (c). It sure looks like Iosivas did all three.

Which takes us back to the standard for replay assist. The evidence must be clear and obvious. Unless and until the NFL implements a full-blown sky judge, where the person in the booth is an extension of the officials on the field who are making the rulings in real time, replay assist and replay review can’t change the ruling on the field without clear and obvious evidence that the ruling on the field was wrong.

Here, the evidence isn’t clear and obvious. The officials on the field necessarily ruled that Iosivas bobbled it, caught it, and then tucked the ball away before fumbling it.

It’s impossible to know what would have happened if the Cowboys had gotten possession at the Cincinnati 28 with 7:28 to play. But that would have been far different from what did happen — Bengals’ drive stalls, Cowboys get the ball on their 20 after a punt, they gain 14 yards and punt, and then the next Bengals’ punt becomes a Leon Lett-style blunder, extending the drive that resulted in the game-winning points.

For now, the point is this. It looked like Iosivas completed the catch before Diggs knocked the ball out. The visual evidence to the contrary was not clear and obvious.

Replay assist might have ultimately given the Bengals a huge assist in the effort to save their season.