PITTSBURGH -- A late-game turnover by rookie wide receiver Tyler Boyd in the Cincinnati Bengals' 24-16 loss to the Steelers on Sunday was the correct call, according to NFL senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino.

Boyd lost the football while attempting to secure a catch with the Bengals driving in an attempt to tie the game at the two-minute warning. Several Bengals, including Boyd, thought his knee hit the ground before the ball came out.

Because the call on the field was a fumble, there wasn't enough evidence to overturn it, Blandino said in a video on his Twitter account.

"We're looking at two things here: We're looking first at whether this is a catch. Control with two feet, starts to turn upfield, tucks the ball away, we do have a catch," Blandino said.

He continued: "The second part we're looking at is whether that right knee is down before the ball starts to come loose. You can see on the live shot, it's not definitive. You can see the knee down; you can't tell if the ball was loose based on this angle."

Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd's fumble in the final minutes helped the Steelers preserve a 24-16 win Sunday. Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said after the game that he was told by officials that Boyd was down before the call was reviewed and upheld.

"They didn't see it that way overall, so that's all that matters," Lewis said.

Blandino said the evidence must be "clear and obvious" to overturn the initial ruling. It was close, he said, but not enough to change the call under review.

"We get several replays, and here you can see the knee was down but you can't see the football," Blandino said. "You can see the knee here, but the problem is we're blocked from seeing the football by the defender's legs."

Blandino said video showed Boyd's knee and the football coming down simultaneously, which didn't allow the call to be overturned.

"If it's not clear and obvious the call on the field is incorrect, then the call will stand," he said. "Just as that knee hits, the ball may start coming loose. It's extremely close, [but] the ruling on the field stands."

The fumble tarnished a day in which Boyd caught six passes for 78 yards.

"It just hurts so bad, because you practice and perform and do ball security and things like that," Boyd said. "You practice everything so much day by day. You just feel like it can't happen on game day. But we're all human. ... That right there just crushed me."