Catch? Fumble? Confusing call on Bears’ final drive of first half vs Eagles

With 36 seconds left in the first half, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw a ball deep right to Anthony Miller, which was broken up by cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc at the Eagles’ 5. Officials, though, reviewed the play to see if it was a fumble instead of an incompletion.

The one problem: neither team had picked the ball up off the ground before officials blew the play dead.

The play was ruled a fumble, but because the fumble was never recovered, the original call of an incompletion held.

Confused? The ruling was poorly explained on the field by referee Tony Corrente, but ultimately was correct. The rulebook states: “If the referee does not have clear and obvious visual evidence as to which player recovered the loose ball, or that the ball went out of bounds, the ruling on the field will stand.”

The Bears eventually kicked a 29-yard field goal as the half expired.