Replay Wizard is fine as long as it is used properly. That might not have been the case in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game in Dallas.

The Bengals scored on second-and-13 of 46 with 7:32 to play. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw a short pass to receiver Andrei Iosivas. The on-field decision was a catch and a fumble forced by Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs. Safety Donovan Wilson recovered the ball and returned it to the Cincinnati 28.

Within seconds, referee Scott Novak said, “After reviewing the play, the pass was incomplete.”

The standard for overturning the on-field decision using replay assistance is identical to the standard for overturning a decision using full replay: the visual evidence must be clear and obvious.

Here is the piece. Iosivas lets the ball wobble before holding it with both hands and tucking it away. The moment you put it away, it’s turned off.

According to the rules, a catch occurs when the receiver: “(a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms before the ball hits the ground; and (b) touches the ground while inbounding with both feet or any part of his body other than his hands and (c) after (a) and (b) have been satisfied, performs an action normal to the game (e.g. dust off“Stretching it forward, taking an extra step, turning upward, or dodging or blocking an opponent), or maintaining control of the ball long enough to do so.” (emphasis added.)

After the wobble, Iosivas secured the ball with both hands. Both feet were down. He then put the ball away just before he was knocked out.

It all happened quickly, but it happened. It looked like a hitch and a fumble.

Sure, ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk said, “To me, he gets the ball and doesn’t manage to get two feet down in a controlled manner and then make a football move before the ball comes out. “To me, that’s incomplete.” Yurk didn’t mention , that tucking the ball is one of the specific soccer moves listed in the rule.

Possession, two feet down, ball tucked, ball knocked out. There is no minimum time requirement. It happens as quickly or as slowly as required for (a), (b) and (c). It really looks like Iosivas did all three.

This brings us back to the standard for playback support. The evidence must be clear and obvious. Unless the NFL introduces a full-fledged Sky Judge, where the person in the booth is an extension of the on-field officials making the decisions in real time, Replay Assist and Replay Review cannot change the on-field decision without clear and obvious evidence that the on-field decision was wrong.

Here the evidence is not clear and obvious. Inevitably, the on-field umpires decided that Iosivas should bobble the ball, catch it, and then tuck it away before fumbling it.

It’s impossible to know what would have happened if the Cowboys had gained possession at the Cincinnati 28 with 7:28 to play. But that would have been very different than what happened – the Bengals’ drive stalls, the Cowboys get the ball after a punt at their 20 yards, they gain 14 yards and punt, and then the Bengals’ next punt goes a mistake in the style of Leon Lett. He built the drive that led to the decisive points.

At the moment it’s about the following. It looked like Iosivas completed the catch before Diggs knocked the ball out. The visual evidence to the contrary was not clear and obvious.

The replay assist may have ultimately been a big help to the Bengals in their effort to save their season.