The reason why New England was granted extra time was due to a mistake by the game clock operator. After tight end Rob Gronkowski's catch down the near sideline was correctly ruled incomplete on the previous play, the game's officials briefly huddled to make sure that it was indeed an incomplete pass (NBC's cameras did not show the official's huddle and instead were locked in on Brady during this sequence). During an official's meeting on the field, the play clock is stopped until a ruling has been made on the previous play. Seeing that the game clock operators forgot to stop the play clock, Brady apparently informed the officials, who in turn awarded New England extra time.
nothing there