Did Officials Get the Victor Cruz Call Right?

Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1(e) An official shall declare the ball dead and the down ended when a runner is out of bounds, or declares himself down by falling to the ground, or kneeling, and making no effort to advance.

Sometimes all that matters is the call. The football is mere window dressing.

Had the officials ruled that Giants receiver Victor Cruz fumbled late in the fourth quarter at Arizona on Sunday, the Cardinals almost certainly would have won the game. But Cruz was ruled to have gone down of his own volition, for the purpose of stopping play.

The former league supervisor of officials, Mike Pereira, now a Fox analyst, likened the call to a crucial one in Week 1 last season, a decision that sent the Lions in the wrong direction and the Bears in the right one.

He wrote on Fox Sports:

This Cruz ruling is one similar to the magnitude of the Calvin Johnson decision from last year. It can really affect the outcome of a season for a team, both in a positive and negative way. With the win, the Giants improved to 3-1, while the Cardinals fell to 1-3.

In my opinion, Cruz slipped and stumbled and didn’t fall to the ground to give himself up. I think it should have been ruled a fumble. I just don’t see this as the normal way a player would give himself up.

He was clearly moving forward and gaining yardage when he went to the ground. I don’t think the rule was meant to protect him in this situation.

Pereira gave two examples:

I remember the play years ago when Plaxico Burress was with the Steelers, when he got up off the ground after a catch and spiked the ball backwards. He was not down by contact and the ball was awarded to the defense.

I also remember the play involving the Chargers and the Raiders, when a Chargers player got up off the ground and spiked the ball forward. Since it was beyond the neutral zone, it became an illegal forward pass.

Eli Manning seemed to have no doubt that it was a fumble:

“We got a break on that one, I think. I thought it was going to be ruled a fumble. I saw it pretty clear, but I don’t know what the call was or why. They couldn’t review it. I tried to get to the ball and snap it really quick.
“He just has to learn. I’ve made that same mistake one or two times before myself. Everything else was good about the play, but a good lesson learned.”

Fittingly for a mixed-up play, Cruz gave some mixed responses after the game.
Sam Borden’s article in The Times:

Cruz said later that he wanted to give himself up, that he “just wanted to get down” so the Giants could go on to the next play.

Ralph Vacchiano’s article in The Daily News:

After first being tripped by Cards cornerback Michael Adams, Cruz took a few more steps before he fell. He got up and left the ball behind because, he said, “I thought I was touched.”

In his Monday Morning QB, Peter King of Sports Illustrated said the officials got it right:

The way I saw it, Cruz did stop trying to advance the ball, and he was on the ground, and he lay the ball down and began returning to the huddle, which falls under the tenets of this rule. I can’t see how, if replay had been allowed, the referee would have overturned the call anyway.

Extra point Which way did you see it?