ST. LOUIS — What already was a bad situation turned much, much worse for the Buccaneers when a replay overturned what at first looked to be a catch for receiver Bert Emanuel in the final, frantic seconds.
With the Bucs trailing 11-6 in yesterday’s NFC Championship Game, Shaun King — on second-and-23 from the Rams’ 35 — fired a pass with 51 seconds left that Emanuel dove and caught for an apparent 12-yard gain, setting up a more manageable third down.
But before another play was run, Jerry Markbreit, the replay official in the upstairs booth, signaled down that the play should be reviewed. After a delay, referee Bill Carollo determined that Emanuel had used the ground to help him make the catch, and overturned the ruling on the field.
Instead of third-and-11, it was third-and-23, and two incomplete desperation passes later, the Rams had secured their difficult 11-6 victory and a trip to Super Bowl XXXIV.
The Bucs did not make a huge fuss about the reversal, even though it was a huge call.
“I’m a league guy,” Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy said, “so if they say it hit the ground, then I’m sure it hit the ground.”
Added defensive tackle Warren Sapp, “The replay didn’t lose the game for us. We had plenty of opportunities to put this ballclub away in the fourth quarter.”
According to Carollo, Emanuel had his hands on the ball but was aided by the turf when he made the grab.
“It was apparent that the player, that as he was catching the ball, he used the ground and the tip of the ball hit the ground,” Carollo said. “By rule, you cannot use the ground or have assistance from the ground to make a catch.”
King, who was looking directly at Emanuel, also did not lay into the officials for the reversal.
“That’s part of the game,” the rookie quarterback said. “Those kind of things you have no control over. The officials made what they think was the right call so we have to live with it.
“I thought Bert caught it. I immediately started looking over to the sideline for the next play. Bert thought he caught it also. Then the referee said he was going to review it.”