NFL: Toe-heel rule made Ja’Lynn Polk out of bounds on near TD in fourth quarter

The Patriots thought they had scored a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins, but officials ruled that wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk did not get both feet down in the end zone.

Polk went up to grab a pass from Jacoby Brissett at the back of the end zone and got one foot down along with the toes of his second foot. His heel came down out of bounds, however, and the Patriots would wind up turning the ball over on downs.

After the game, NFL vice president of officiating George Stewart spoke to pool reporter Mike Reiss of ESPN.com about the call and explained the rule that governs the play.

“The rule that was applied was the toe-heel rule,” Stewart said. “What happened was he did have one foot down in the field of play and at the completion of the second step, he had his toe in the field of play, but his heel came down on the white line out of bounds. So, he did not have two feet in bounds at the conclusion of the catch.”

Stewart noted that it was different than a play where a receiver drags their toes before going out of bounds because of the nature of the play and that difference cost the Patriots on Sunday.