In the first quarter of Super Bowl LIX, the Philadelphia Eagles looked to have scored a touchdown on a pass by quarterback Jalen Hurts to wide receiver Jahan Dotson.

In the end, the officials called back the initial ruling of a touchdown and ruled Dotson down short of the end zone, at the 1-yard line.

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NFL’s “Down by Contact” rule

It wasn’t a huge deal for the Eagles, because they were then set up right at the 1-yard line, and were able to get the touchdown on the following play, with their famous “tush push”, in which Hurts got the ball in the end zone. Of course, it’s not great for Dotson, who won’t get credit for the score.

The reason the runner was ruled short of the end zone is due to an NFL rule, which states that once he has been contacted by an opponent and touches the ground with any part of his body that’s not his hand or feet, he’s ruled down by contact and the play is called dead.

Here’s what the official NFL rule (Section 2, Article 1) says:

An official shall declare the ball dead and the down ended:

a) when a runner is contacted by an opponent and touches the ground with any part of his body other than his hands or feet. The ball is dead the instant the runner touches the ground. A runner touching the ground with his hands or feet while in the grasp of an opponent may continue to advance; or Note: If, after contact by an opponent, any part of a runner’s leg above the ankle or any part of his arm above the wrist touches the ground, the runner is down.

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