Washington went on to win 23-15.
Replays showed that the State Farm Stadium turf did help Ward haul in the Dwayne Haskins-thrown pass. Former VP of NFL officiating, Mike Pereira, who is now with FOX, even came on during the broadcast and explained why the play should be ruled an incomplete pass.
Ward wasn't the only one frustrated. His teammate, cornerback Richard Sherman, spoke with reporters after the game and sounded pretty convinced that the decision to overturn the call was incorrect. In fact, he didn't sound too thrilled with the game's officiating as a whole.
"Right before the half, there was a missed pass interference call where they tackled [Kendrick Bourne]," Sherman explained, "where the ref literally watched it happen, and said, 'Oh, the quarterback didn't throw.' It was just a few unfortunate things.
"Obviously, that play where Jimmie controlled it and used the ground to control it. At the end of the day, that should have been a turnover, but when things aren't going your way, you can't complain, you can't make excuses. You've just got to keep playing hard.
"It's just unfortunate because Jimmie's having a heck of a season. That would have been a huge play in the game."
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