National Football League

NFL official Hochuli upholds Bryant's non-catch ruling

Published Jul. 17, 2015 11:20 p.m. ET

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Six months have passed since Dez Bryant's apparent 31-yard fourth quarter catch in January's NFC divisional playoffs, but the topic of conversation at the NFL's annual officiating clinic was the fourth-and-2 play overturned to an incomplete pass.

"At the time, they said the ruling was correct," Ed Hochuli, who is entering his 26th year as an official, said. "After the game, the league said the ruling was correct. The rule hasn't changed. It's still correct. And people may not like the rule, but that is the rule. And that's the way the rule was interpreted and handled correctly."

Walt Coleman, who is also entering his 26th year as a game official, says the league "got the play right." He also empathizes with referee Gene Steratore, who had to overturn the catch after Packers coach Mike McCarthy's challenge. Coleman was part of another controversial game in NFL playoff history: the 2001 AFC divisional between New England and Oakland.

"Not everybody in Oakland thinks it was a forward pass," Coleman said of Brady's fumble ruled incomplete pass. "But it was. And not everybody thinks that that was an incomplete pass. But it was.

"That's the fun part about being involved and the fans and people are so excited, to be involved in something like the National Football League, so many people get excited about it."

Hochuli says if the play happened in a game without consequence, no one would have minded the ruling. However, it was its occurrence in a big game that perpetuated the controversy.

"If that same thing had happened in a Week 15, nobody really would have noticed," said Hochuli. "But everybody would have understood, 'OK, yeah, I guess that's what the rule is.' But you put it in a big-game situation and suddenly everybody's talking about it."

Ultimately, all that matters for the officials is getting the calls right at the end of games. Even the score is not foremost on the officials' minds, according to Coleman.

"For us? We don't care," Coleman said. "I don't care what the score is. It doesn't matter to us. A lot of times at the end of the game, we don't even know what the score is when we fill out paperwork, we have to ask someone, what was the score. Because it's not important. But it's important to everybody else.

"It's hard for the fans to understand that. But that's what it's all about. Fans are what makes this thing go. And so they're never going to agree with you. I've had games where I don't think I made anybody happy."

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