In your view, what happened on the play that was ruled a safety?

"Well, it wasn't in my view," Kukar said. "Our official down on the field said to me that the defensive player recovered the ball on the one-yard line, virtually took it into the end zone and then stayed in the end zone. In effect, what this amounts to is a player carrying the ball into his own end zone. We were looking to see if he was touched down by contact, which he was not. And he made no effort to get it out of his own end zone. Therefore, it is a safety. That's the only thing we can do with it."

Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren, who is a former member of the NFL Competition Committee, offered his take on the call at his postgame press conference.

"That happened earlier this year (for the Atlanta Falcons) against Carolina. At the time, it was an unusual call for them. (Carolina cornerback) Doug Evans had made a similar play, got the ball, ran out of the end zone, I believe, or ran into the end zone and was touched, and there was the same sort of dispute, but the ruling was that momentum is not part of a fumble recovery. The pass interception taking you into the end zone is (part of momentum). Once he was touched, it is a safety.

"The same thing exactly happened in Carolina, and we talked about it. To me, the reaction is … that is not the rule (for a fumble), but it is the rule (for an interception). Don't ask me why it is different for an interception versus a fumble, but that's just the rule.

"I talked to our staff about it when the Carolina play happened. I said, 'This is very unusual.' I asked, 'Who knew this rule?' and of course none of my guys knew the rule. But we knew it this time. I would rather have Ricky (Watters) run it in, then we wouldn't have had all the problems, but it made for an exciting ending.

"Now everyone will understand the rule, and they will know how to react. If you recover a fumble outside (the end zone), and it takes you in, then you better get out of there again. The rule where you make a long run like that, and you fumble on the two-yard-line out of the end zone, I'm sure you could have some argument about how fair all that stuff is, too.