They couldn't do that even if they knew it was going to be challenged. Once the whistle blew after the TD was signaled, the play was considered over.
Yeah, I had heard that. But seems to be different in the field of play. On a pileup on a fumble on the field, don't they blow the whistle then sort it out? Could have done same thing just in case. It's not like anyone in the pile heard or stopped because of the whistle.
But hey, worked out good for us.
I think the difference is that the whistle in your case happens after the fumble and players continue to fight for the ball. In the case of the play in the Miami game, the whistle blew to call the play a TD (meaning the players didn't have to fight for the ball because the ref already called a touchdown).
It is similar to the situation if the QB throws a pass that is intercepted and is going to be run back for a TD, but the ref blows the whistle and stops the play because he thought that the ball hit the ground first. All the players stop trying to tackle the defender as he runs down the field (like they do after every obvious forward pass that looks like a fumble) for the TD. If the replays show that it actually was an interception, where would you award the ball. Is it a TD since the player ran it in (even though no one tried to tackle him), do they just get it at the location of the pick (even though he returned it some), or since the play was dead, does the offense keep the ball? I believe that this kind of play actually cannot be reviewed for that reason.
