Referee Gene Steratore awarded the ball back to the Steelers because he couldn't conclusively determine that the Dolphins had ended up with the ball, even though a Miami player handed the football to an official. Here is what Gene Steratore had to say about the fumble. "After review it has been determined that prior to the ball crossing the goal line, the runner did lose possession of the ball. However, by rule in replay, two aspects of this play must be available to be viewed. Not only did we have to view the fumble being a fumble, we also have to have clear evidence of the team recovering the ball. After review, we do not have clear evidence of the defense recovering the fumble, therefore Pittsburgh will have the ball, fourth and goal at the half-yard line. Miami will not be charged with a timeout and the clock will start on the ready for play." Just because he couldn't tell who had the ball, he awarded the Steelers with it. Steratore took the easy way out. Instead of using common sense to make a ruling that would be deemed controversial. Now the NFL should do something about it, like suspend him 4 games without pay. Let's not forget that Gene Steratore is a Pittsburgh native. Right the wrong.