It wasn’t exactly the tuck rule, but there was controversy about a pass involving the Patriots in the AFC Championship game in Denver on Sunday.
Late in the second quarter, with the Broncos up 7-0 and with the ball deep in their own territory, backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham was pressured by New England linebacker Christian Elliss.
Elliss hit Stidham as he backpedaled and Stidham tried to shovel the ball forward to avoid the sack.
Patriots linebacker Elijah Ponder recovered the ball, picked it up and ran it into the end zone for a potential game-tying touchdown, but the officials whistled the play dead and threw a flag for intentional grounding.
It would have resulted in a fourth down, which would have allowed the Broncos to punt the ball away.
Instead, the officials met to discuss the call and determined that Stidham’s pass went backwards, making it a live ball, recovered by New England.
But because the play was whistled dead, Ponder’s return was negated and the Patriots got the ball on Denver’s 12-yard-line.
The Patriots capitalized on Stidham’s mistake, as two plays later, Drake Maye scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
Stidham was starting his first game since the end of the 2023 regular season, with Bo Nix having broken his ankle at the end of Denver’s overtime win over Buffalo last week in the divisional round.
