NFL teams
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Dez Bryant didn't need to see Jesse James' overturned catch; he lived it

OAKLAND -- Dez Bryant didn't see Jesse James' overturned touchdown catch in the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss to the New England Patriots.

"I bet it was crazy, huh?" Bryant said after the Dallas Cowboys beat the Oakland Raiders.

Maybe as crazy as seeing his catch overturned by replay in the 2014 playoffs against the Green Bay Packers. James' touchdown-that-wasn't was not season-ending for the Steelers, like Bryant's catch-that-wasn't, but it could determine home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

James thought he had given Pittsburgh a lead after his 10-yard catch from Ben Roethlisberger with less than a minute to play, only to have referee Tony Corrente change the call after a replay review, saying the tight end did not maintain possession as he went to the ground.

It was the same reasoning Gene Steratore gave when overturning Bryant's fourth-down catch at the Packers' 1-yard line.

Almost since Bryant's catch/no-catch, nobody knows what a catch is.

Bryant did not see the James play, but he did see Kareem Hunt's catch overturned in the Kansas City Chiefs' win Saturday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

"Now, hey, that's BS," Bryant said. "Now that's a catch. I don't care what nobody says. He had the majority of that football. Like, come on now, refs, Mr. Officials, head of officials, whatever you want to call them, pinstripes."

Steratore called the Cowboys game Sunday against the Raiders. It was the first Dallas game he's worked since the playoff loss to the Packers, but Bryant was not aware of the connection until midway through the game when a teammate told him.

By the way, Dez still thinks he caught it.

"Without a doubt," Bryant said. "I snagged that thing and came down, too."

Steratore was at the center of attention Sunday as well. He used a piece of paper to affirm a first down for Dak Prescott on a quarterback sneak. Replay was called on to overturn a Raiders touchdown on an interception return by Sean Smith when it was clear he was touched by Cole Beasley. He denied a Cowboys challenge of an Oakland first-down catch and correctly ruled Jason Witten did not get the yard he needed for a first down, setting up Prescott's sneak.

Had the piece of paper not affirmed Steratore's ruling, Jason Garrett was ready to challenge that spot.

"To be honest with you, we thought that it was spotted short, from our vantage point," Garrett said. "We felt like he made more than they gave us. As we all know, it's hard to overturn those in a big scrum like that. I do think at that moment, because it was such a critical play in the game, if it did go against us we probably would've challenged."

Replay confirmed Oakland's final play, when Derek Carr fumbled out of the end zone with 31 seconds remaining.

"When you're measuring with cigarette papers out there and then the last play you're having the debate of in bounds, out of bounds and touchbacks, it just makes this game exciting," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "I don't know that you can invent a lot of nuances."

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