T.J. Hockenson was baffled by his touchdown catch getting overturned

T.J. Hockenson thought he had secured his second touchdown reception of the season. With around three minutes left in the Vikings' game against the Eagles on Sunday, he made a diving catch to bring in a Carson Wentz pass in the end zone, which would've cut a nine-point deficit down to two after the extra point. It was ruled as a TD on the field. He celebrated with teammates in the end zone.

But it wasn't a completely clean catch for Hockenson, who landed on the ball after going full extension to snag it with both hands. All scoring plays are reviewed, so the NFL replay center in New York took a look at it. And after a couple minutes, crew chief Bill Vinovich made the announcement: call overturned.

"After reviewing the play, the receiver lost possession when he hit the ground," Vinovich said. "It's an incomplete pass."

The FOX broadcast showed Hockenson's frustrated reaction to the call. After the game, speaking to reporters in the Vikings' locker room, the seventh-year tight end made it clear that he didn't understand how the play could've been overturned.

"Hands are underneath the ball," he said. "It's ridiculous. (I) can't buy one."

Hockenson said the refs on the field told him they had the play as a catch, even after the overturn, which came from replay officials in New York.

"There's nothing to overturn it," he said. "I don't understand. I don't, obviously, understand the catch rule at this point. (Jordan Addison) had one like the exact same thing last year in the corner of the end zone. They've gotta figure it out. New York can't call in and say that it's not a catch when every other ref out there says it is. That's all there is to it. It's just crazy, this whole thing. You can't have somebody call in that's not at the game, with apparently a different view than everybody else has here."

You can be the judge. The replay shows that the ball may have moved slightly when Hockenson made contact with the ground, but that his hands were underneath it. Then, a brief moment later, he slightly loses possession of the ball, but ultimately retains it without it hitting the ground again. His body never touched out of bounds, either.

T.J. Hockenson was not happy with his diving touchdown in the fourth quarter getting overturned by the replay center in New York.

"Hands are underneath the ball," he said. "It's ridiculous." pic.twitter.com/9ncvMvu537
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 19, 2025

WHAT AN EFFORT FROM TJ HOCKENSON. Should this have counted? I believe it should have. pic.twitter.com/wHTes08MU3
— Vikes\/erified (@VikesVV) October 19, 2025

"He's just gotta hold onto that ball after he hits the ground," FOX officiating analyst Mike Pereira said on the broadcast. "His hands came off the ball."

By any objective measure, it was a close play. What surprised Hockenson — and many viewers — more than anything is that whoever made the decision saw enough to overturn the call on the field of a catch. Typically, plays that are that close are upheld as called on the field, given the need for "clear and obvious" evidence to overturn a ruling.

Kevin O'Connell noted that he thought the play and review had a similar premise to a first-quarter catch by DeVonta Smith that he challenged. That play was upheld upon review.

"I'm not a part of the conversations with Bill or New York," O'Connell said.

That play happened on a third and short. The Vikings ended up converting on fourth down, but a sack led to them settling for a field goal for their fifth time in six trips to the red zone. That made it a 28-22 game, which ended up as the final score.

No matter what, the Vikings were going to need another defensive stop. But if Hockenson's catch had stood, they would've had an extra minute-plus of time on the clock and would've only needed a field goal if they had gotten the ball back.

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