EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Austin Seferian-Jenkins sat on the bench, convinced he had just helped the New York Jets close the gap against the rival New England Patriots.

But what Tony Corrente said sent Seferian-Jenkins sprinting on the sideline toward the referee, arms flailing.

In the New England’s 24-17 victory Sunday, it was the Jets tight end's overturned touchdown that was one of the pivotal plays of the game.

“I feel like I scored,” Seferian-Jenkins said. “But that’s what the ref called. I’m going with what the ref said and I have to have better ball security. I have to make sure I make the necessary corrections so that doesn’t happen again.”

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Facing a 10-point deficit with 8:31 to play in the fourth quarter, Seferian-Jenkins appeared to score on a catch that could have reduced the margin to three points. Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler jarred the ball loose as the tight end headed to the front pylon on the left side of the end zone, but Seferian-Jenkins appeared to regain possession as he crossed the plane.

After calling it a touchdown, officials reviewed the play.

Corrente then ruled that Seferian-Jenkins had fumbled the ball and lost possession , resulting in a touchback and possession for the Patriots.

“He lost the ball on his way to the ground the first time and had to re-grasp, that means now it is a loose ball,” Corrente said after the game in a pool report. “He has to have control and survive the ground in the process of the recovery or, as we say, the process of the catch.”

Corrente later added that Seferian-Jenkins didn’t regain possession until he was out of bounds.

“We went through two or three primary looks and then this other shot came up,” Corrente said of the replay angles. “When the other shot came up, it was just boom, boom, boom,” Corrente said. “It was a pretty quick determination. It was pretty obvious.”

Corrente added that it was senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron who made the final determination on the play.

“I’m pretty sure everybody is going to look back and say ‘That was a B.S. call,’ ” Jets receiver Jermaine Kearse said. “So at the end of the day, you’ve just got to beat teams outright, especially teams like the Patriots.”

Butler, for his part, seemed to know right away that he had made a game-changing play. Patriots coach Bill Belichick said that the first thing the cornerback relayed as he came off the field was that Seferian-Jenkins had lost possession.

“It was a tremendous play,” Belichick said. “Great, great awareness. It saved us seven points.”

For one sideline, it was a boon. The Patriots capitalized on the turnover and turned the victory into their claiming of first place in the AFC East.

For the other, it was crushing. It made a comeback attempt that much more complicated. The Jets did add a field goal, but in their last offensive drive of the game, could not reach the end zone.

“Once I heard what happened, it was a little shocking,” Patriots receiver Brandin Cooks said. “I never knew that rule, but now I know. Football is football. Sometimes it goes in your favor. Sometimes it doesn’t. That just happened to go in ours.”

Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.

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