On a call that figures to be much discussed, the host Bengals took a 14-0 halftime lead against the Colts after BenJarvus Green-Ellis was ruled to have scored a one-yard TD on fourth-and-goal from the Indianapolis one-yard-line after initially being judged down short of a touchdown by the officiating crew.
On the play, Green-Ellis stumbled and had his knee contact the ground before he broke the plane of the goal line late in the second quarter. Initially, Green-Ellis was ruled to have been touched down, ostensibly by Colts defensive lineman Josh Chapman, who tried to trip up Green-Ellis before he began to stumble.
Referee Jeff Triplette reviewed the play and reversed the call, awarding the touchdown to Green-Ellis after declaring that Green-Ellis was not touched down.
This was met with an incredulous reaction by CBS announcer Greg Gumbel.
“Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Not touched?” Gumbel said.
The Green-Ellis TD marked yet another tough first half for Indianapolis, which was outgained 221-117.