[ChicagoCard]

Not only was it 1st down, there's another point that never seemed to come up (with the announcers or other forums). What the heck does the rule book say? If whether the ball has crossed the plane of the goal line factors in to so many situations, why doesn't it come down to whether Ertz possessed the ball on top of the defender inside the plain. I know that you have to possess the ball and get one foot down typically. This particular situation was less common. Maybe I'm not thinking about this right, but what if Ertz possesses the ball entirely inside the planes and is on top of the defender? Not a TD?

[ChicagoCard]

Not only was it 1st down, there's another point that never seemed to come up (with the announcers or other forums). What the heck does the rule book say? If whether the ball has crossed the plane of the goal line factors in to so many situations, why doesn't it come down to whether Ertz possessed the ball on top of the defender inside the plain. I know that you have to possess the ball and get one foot down typically. This particular situation was less common. Maybe I'm not thinking about this right, but what if Ertz possesses the ball entirely inside the planes and is on top of the defender? Not a TD?