[a little elbow grease]

The ball was jarred loose when the player went to the ground. He had not established possession and by rule must maintain control of the ball to the ground

_______

He HAD CONTROL of the ball TO the ground.

[daler]

I've heard since I was a young 'un, "the ground cannot cause a fumble!"

Maybe not exactly the same thing here, but did he not have full possession of the ball when he "crossed the plane of the goal line?" (Another overused football phrase).

I'm neither a Steeler or Patriot fan; I've always followed the Vikings, so I'm hypersensitive to bad officiating.

Not that I would ever toss a whiskey bottle at an official's head.

[calenel]

He HAD CONTROL of the ball TO the ground.

Nope. The expression 'to the ground' means all the way to the ground, throughout the process of the catch. The ball came loose during his landing, and he therefore did not complete the catch.

To nit pick a bit, how can we actually know if he had control? That's why the 'football move' rule exists. That's how you transition to being a runner, which is simply the process of establishing possession. The rules are clear, like them or not, and EVERY team gets bad breaks now and again. No point in running around with a chip on your shoulder because of the rules that apply to everybody.