Tom Brady fumbled and Javon Hargrave recovered, but the Steelers didn’t get the ball

Facing an important third-and-1 near midfield, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady dialed up his own number and crashed through the line on a QB sneak. Seconds later, Steelers defenders began to frantically motion they had the ball.

Brady was ruled down on the field, leading Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin to throw his challenge flag not once, but twice. As the replay was broadcast through the stadium, the Steelers’ offense prepared to take the field. Most of the angles of the play were inconclusive:

One view seemed to suggest the ball was wiggling free from Brady’s grasp as he fell to the turf.

The referee’s ruling was blunt and simple: the call on the field stands. NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino elaborated on Twitter.

There’s only one problem — Steelers nose tackle Javon Hargrave left the pile with the ball. So either the referees ruled the ball was pried loose well after the whistle, or they blanked the rookie’s rise from the stack of humanity on the field.

Either way, the ball stayed with the home team. Minutes later, Stephen Gostkowski made good on New England’s second chance by drilling a 48-yard field goal to push the Patriots’ lead to 20-9.