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Originally Posted by Unit14
What was announced was that Lovie was challenging that there was a fumble. There was a fumble and the replay booth told Madden that the reason the play could not be overturned was because they didn't know who to give the ball to.
You're right, I wasn't part of the conversation.
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Everything you are saying is correct. The announcers did say the replay official told them it was a fumble but because the recovery was a scrum, they could not say for certain that the Bears recovered. The rule change last year was to allow for the defensive team to retain the ball in the event a runner was ruled down by contact and the defensive team obviously would have gained possession had the whistle not been blown. I'm guessing the same could be applied if the offense recovered the ball behind the spot of the fumble and maybe lose the ability to gain a first down.
The best way to handle it would probably be to tell the coach before they went into replay that if we determine it was a fumble but probably can't determine who recovered (and thus charge him with a timeout), does he still want the challenge. If he says yes, at least he is going into it knowing the possible ramifications.
This is an interesting scenario that may not have been fully considered when they put the rule in last year. I'm sure this will be part of the Official Review on the NFL network this week.