Explain why George Pickens' “Touchdown” was declared incomplete

For a moment it seemed as if the Pittsburgh Steelers had broken through and found the end zone. After the offense stalled on its first two attempts in the red zone, QB Russell Wilson found WR George Pickens on third down midway through the second quarter. Pickens made a great hand catch, secured the ball cleanly and the referees ruled the touchdown. With the extra point, Pittsburgh was close to taking a 13-6 lead over the New York Giants.

That was it until it was declared incomplete. It's unlikely that Pickens failed to get his left foot on the ball as he was forced out of the end zone by CB Deonte Banks. Here's a look at the piece.

Pickens tapped his right foot twice. Shouldn't that count as a touchdown? Unfortunately, the rule is “two feet,” not “two feet.” Jori Epstein shared the official rules below.

“Both feet” is the key word and unfortunately Pickens clearly didn’t get his left foot right. A great throw and catch, but better defensive play from the Giants, who forced the Steelers into their third field goal of the night.

Worst of all, Mike Tomlin tried to challenge the play. However, since it was initially a touchdown, it was automatically checked. This means that Tomlin is not allowed to challenge and has therefore lost a timeout, leaving the Steelers with only one timeout left in the half.

A similar situation occurred last year against the Tennessee Titans. Despite having plenty of room, Pickens was unable to bring his left foot down, resulting in a touchdown being ruled out. There was no violence here.

Pittsburgh leads New York 9-6 late in the first half. Pickens officially has two catches for 25 yards. And no touchdowns.