During the Atlanta Falcons’ Week 14 game against the Seattle Seahawks, a play late in the second quarter raised questions about a potential touchdown catch by wide receiver Darnell Mooney. With just over a minute left before halftime and the score tied at 3-3, quarterback Kirk Cousins threw to Mooney in the end zone. Mooney appeared to catch the ball for a touchdown, but officials ruled the pass incomplete, stating that he had stepped out of bounds prior to making the catch.
Referee Alex Kemp explained after the game: “We ruled that he did not re-establish himself back in bounds, that he went out on his own. He was not forced out.” Kemp further clarified what is required for a player to re-establish themselves: “He would have to get two feet down in bounds in order to re-establish, two feet or a body part, back in bounds. If he had and would have been the first to touch, it would have been a foul for illegal touching of a pass. The penalty enforcement for that would be the exact same as an incomplete pass. It’s loss of down at the previous spot. Had we ruled what we ruled or the other way, the result of the play would have been the exact same thing.”
Kemp noted that Falcons head coach Raheem Morris could have challenged whether Mooney was out of bounds but said that whether Mooney was forced out is not reviewable.
In his postgame press conference, Morris said: “My explanation was I thought it should have been a call on the play. Potentially, you get a call on the play, re-establish yourself, catch the ball, and it should have been a touchdown. They explained to me that they didn’t see it that way.
“Whatever the case may be: It’s not a touchdown. It is what it is. You go with what the official said in that moment. We’ll figure out what the right decision was moving forward.”
Following this play and failing to convert on third down, Atlanta settled for a 43-yard field goal from Zane Gonzalez. Seattle responded with their own field goal before halftime.
After halftime, Seattle returned Atlanta’s kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and added ten more points in the third quarter. The Falcons managed another field goal in the fourth quarter but ultimately lost 37-9. With this defeat, Atlanta’s record dropped to 4-9 and eliminated them from playoff contention with four games remaining.
Morris did not consider Mooney’s overturned touchdown as pivotal: “No,” he said when asked if it shifted momentum. “The momentum-turning play was the kickoff return after the half.”
Reflecting on missed opportunities after another loss, Cousins commented: “You try not to let anything deflate you,” Cousins said. “You try not to let anything beat you. You try to keep playing … and believe that if you do that, you’ll be competing until the end. But yeah, you look back at the end of the game and kind of say, ‘Yeah, that would have been a nice one to have there, and it just didn’t go our way.'”
