Yesterday, you may have followed the online back-and-forth here on the much-talked-about Chrysler ad, " Halftime in America," featuring Clint Eastwood. It was knocked off YouTube for several hours yesterday, with only a short notice from YouTube on the site saying they had received a copyright complaint from NFL Properties.

But the NFL said they quickly told YouTube the Chrysler ad was OK.

The NFL said they did not complain about the video. YouTube said they only take down videos when they receive a complaint. Chrysler was just wondering what happened to this video that they had spent a ton of money on, and why it was no longer on YouTube.

So here's the update. An NFL spokesman tells me today that a third-party vendor the NFL uses for "content identification services" had "mistakenly sent a take-down notice." (They declined to name the vendor.)

Says NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy: "We asked Google to reinstate it immediately, which it did. Our office did not object to the ad or its placement online. (It was on NFL.com yesterday after the game – and continues to be – as part of content along with all the ads that appeared in the game)."

So here's the key part: "The vendor thought the ad was part of the halftime programming, which is protected, and not a commercial."

So the vendor thought Chrysler had taken a portion of the NFL's halftime programming and put it on its own Youtube page. Ooops. Inadvertent flag on the play. Play on.

In a way, Chrysler's ad people should be commended for making such a slick ad that it got confused for NFL programming. NFL programming is very well done.