NEW YORK (AP) – The NFL confirmed officials made the right call when they penalized Simeon Rice for leaping to try to block a field-goal attempt in the Colts’ stunning overtime victory over the Buccaneers.

The call Monday night gave Indianapolis a second chance at a field goal that won the game 38-35 and capped one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.

The Colts trailed Tampa Bay by three touchdowns with under four minutes left in regulation.

Rice, a 6-foot-5 defensive end, was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after jumping to try to block Mike Vangerjagt’s missed 40-yard field-goal attempt. Vanderjagt got another chance and made a 29-yarder that hit the right upright.

The league confirmed Tuesday what referee Johnnie Grier said after the game: The rules ban running forward, leaping and falling on a player, as Rice did.

Rule 12, section three, article two calls for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a player “clearly running forward and leaping in an obvious attempt to block a field goal or try-kick after touchdown and landing on players unless the leaping player was originally lined up within one yard of the line of scrimmage when the ball was snapped.”

AP-ES-10-07-03 1355EDT