Ja’Lynn Polk reacts to failed TD grab vs. Dolphins

Ja’Lynn Polk reacts to the overturned TD grab vs. Dolphins originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

With just over a minute left in Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk appeared to give his team the lead with a phenomenal toe-tapping grab in the back of the end zone.

The excitement in Gillette Stadium was short-lived. Polk’s go-ahead touchdown grab was negated despite appearing to have both feet in bounds. However, upon closer inspection, his heel was clearly out of bounds. Normally that is an incompleteness.

“If any part of the foot goes out of bounds during the normal continuous motion of taking a step (heel-toe or toe-heel), then the foot is out of bounds,” the NFL rulebook states. “A player is in bounds if he drags his foot, or if there is a delay between the moment the heel-toe or toe-heel hits the ground.”

The overturned call was a crushing blow as the Patriots lost their fourth straight game, 15-10. Polk took issue with the controversial call after the defeat.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s clear to see that I’m two feet in,” Polk said. “But we’re not in that situation if I do my job the whole game, make the key blocks for our guys on the field and just pay attention to the details.”

Polk ignored the officials’ reasoning for the dropped TD, which was that his heel had landed out of bounds.

“As a receiver, you catch the ball and put your feet in. I feel like I did that,” he said. “I don’t know, I can’t speak for them.”

The Patriots offense once again struggled to push the ball downfield, totaling 299 yards with only 160 coming through the air. They were also penalized twelve times, just four fewer than the total from the first four games of the campaign.

Polk (one catch for 13 yards on six targets) had a mix of drops and penalties, but he was far from the only Patriot with costly miscues in Sunday’s game. Nevertheless, he was responsible for his mistakes.

“I did it to myself,” the second-round pick said. “I have to know my job and know what to do when we’re going to run plays. If that’s true, it’s just the little details: knowing what you’re doing, knowing the situation, so that everyone is on the same page. …

“I have to play better, I have to do better, I have to practice harder,” he added. “I have to find ways, whatever I can do, to help the team get better, and myself as well.”

The Patriots will need Polk and their offense to bounce back next Sunday against the 4-1 Houston Texans. Kickoff for that tough match is scheduled for 1:00 PM ET at Gillette Stadium.