Referee Tony Corrente on the Paul Richardson catch: That’s a touchdown

The Seattle Seahawks beat the New York Giants 24-7 on Sunday, with seven points coming on a controversial catch by Paul Richardson for a long touchdown from Russell Wilson.

Many wondered if Richardson could have possibly had possession while he was fighting for the ball with Giants defender Landon Collins. But referee Tony Corrente says that it was because they were fighting for the ball that it was a catch.

The key phrase here is “the defender has a second action.” There would be nothing for Collins to rip free if the ball was not first possessed by Richardson. And if Richardson possesses the ball in the end zone, even for a split second, then it has to be a touchdown.

Seattle went up 17-7 on the play, though New York had so little going for them at that point that it’s really hard to imagine that this one play was the difference in the game. But even if it was, all the evidence that we can actually view says that it is in fact a score.