NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino put his stamp of approval on the referees' decision to pick up a pass interference flag in the end zone on the final play of the New England Patriots' 24-20 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Monday night, saying they used "proper mechanics" to make a "tight judgment call."

The game ended on a throw from Tom Brady to tight end Rob Gronkowski in the back of the end zone that was intercepted as time expired. Gronkowski appeared to have been held by linebacker Luke Kuechly on the play. A flag was thrown, but after a conference with the other officials, referee Clete Blakeman announced there was no penalty on the play. Had the penalty been upheld, the Patriots would have had one untimed play from the 1-yard line to try and score the winning touchdown.

Blandino drew a key distinction between a defensive player making contact with an opponent and "restricting" him.

"The issue isn't the contact [between Kuechly and Gronkowski], the issue is the restriction and does it occur prior to the ball being touched," Blandino explained Tuesday during his segment on the NFL Network. "At full speed the officials made a tight judgment call and they determined that the restriction occurred just as the ball was being touched [by Panthers safety Robert Lester]. Again, at full speed you can see why they made that call."

Pass interference penalties are not reviewable, which means the officials had to make a judgment call on when the contact Kuechly was making with Gronkowski became "restrictive." In their judgment, Blandino said, they ruled that the "restriction occurred simultaneously with the ball being touched. When you watch it at full speed you can see why they would make that call on the field."

Following the game, Blakeman defended the decision, saying Gronkowski's distance from the ball rendered the pass uncatchable and there was "a determination that, in essence, uncatchability -- that the ball was intercepted at or about the same time the primary contact against the receiver occurred."

Less than 12 hours after the non-call cost his team a shot at winning the game, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was not any more inclined to discuss the play than he was following the contest.

"Whatever the officials think is the only thing that matters," Belichick said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters. "They're the ones that make the calls. It's their explanation and their judgment that we all have to abide by."