PFWA Pool Reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques Interview with Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Sunday, November 1, 2026
Question: On the incomplete pass overturned to a touchdown, can you explain the process of overturning that decision and ruling the touchdown (New England 2nd-and-2, Miami 43, 9:30 remaining, third quarter)?
Butterworth: The wide receiver completes the process of the catch and once he completes the process of the catch, the ball is already over the goal line, breaking the plane of the goal line, which ends the play. He then loses control of the ball.
Question: On the turnover on downs that was overturned to a first down, same question, can you walk me through the process of overturning that decision (New England 4th-and-2, Miami 23, 4:50 remaining, third quarter)?
Butterworth: A failure on fourth down is an automatic booth review and the game was stopped via replay. The line to gain pylon shows that the ball reached the line to gain prior to any body part being down by contact. So, he actually extended the ball forward to the line to gain and then he was down by contact.