Did T.J. Hockenson just expose the NFL? There’s long been an issue in the NFL regarding controversial calls by officials. Going as far back as 2015’s Dez Bryant’s “Dez Caught It” call in a divisional round game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers, fans have complained about the officials. The phrase “the NFL script” has become common.
A recent comment by Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson suggested that sometimes, the commissioner officer seems to take playcalling into their hands. According to him, during a recent game, referees told him he had scored a touchdown, but the league’s New York office decided to reverse the decision. He complained:
“New York can’t call in and say that it’s not a catch when every other ref out there says it is.”
Yikes: Vikings TE TJ Hockenson says the refs on the field told him he scored a touchdown but NY went over their head.
“New York can’t call in and say that it’s not a catch when every other ref out there says it is”
People are starting to realize…😶pic.twitter.com/ZGqdsAMA1N
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 20, 2025
The game in question was Monday Night Football’s encounter between the Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles. The game ended in a victory for the Eagles, 28-22. The fourth-quarter touchdown call going their way would’ve flipped the script of the encounter.
NFL Vice President Of Instant Replay On Why The Play Call Was Overturned in Vikings vs Eagles
After the game, the vice president of instant replay, Mark Butterworth, explained that the officials’ call was overturned because, according to the league, there was clear and incontrovertible evidence that T.J. Hockenson’s catch against the Eagles wasn’t a touchdown.
“The ruling on the field was a touchdown,” Butterworth said, “so it’s replay’s jurisdiction to stop the game. We used broadcast-enhanced shots to show that as he was going to the ground — he needs control of the ball throughout the process of the catch — he lost control of the ball. The ball hit the ground. Then, he regained control of the ball. So therefore, we overturned it to an incomplete pass.”
Hockenson maintained that he had sustained possession throughout the entire play and that the decision to overturn the call was ridiculous.
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