NFL discusses changing what defines a catch
File- This Dec. 17, 2017, file photo shows Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jesse James (81) catching a pass then twists to stretch the ball into the end zone for a touchdown against the New England Patriots with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh. It was ballyhooed for weeks, and in most ways it lived up to the billing. Seesaw contest matching the AFC's best teams (by far), filled with big plays and controversy, don't ask Steelers fans about the "catch rule."(AP Photo/Don Wright, File) Credit: AP / Don Wright
So, what constitutes a catch in the NFL?
Good question, one that might become just a bit easier to answer starting next season.
The NFL’s Competition Committee is discussing a proposal that would loosen the current standards for a completion. Under the rule now in place, a receiver must complete the act of catching the ball through the entire play, including “surviving the ground.” If the ball hits the ground or the player loses possession after hitting the ground, the pass is ruled incomplete.
But a change is being considered whereby a catch would be upheld if the receiver establishes possession before hitting the ground. The current rule has been a source of controversy, and led to the overturning of a key touchdown in a Steelers-Patriots regular-season game at Heinz Field last December. The Steelers appeared to score a touchdown when Ben Roethlisberger hit tight end Jesse James for a go-ahead score. But the play was ruled an incompletion because the ball hit the ground just after James crossed the goal line. Instead of taking a 31-27 lead with 28 seconds left in regulation, the Steelers were held out of the end zone and wound up losing, 27-24, in a game that helped the Patriots clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
“The receiver, in the end zone, did not survive the ground,” referee Tony Corrente said after the game of the play in question.
Other rules change considerations being discussed by the Competition Committee include a plan to look at more ejections because of on-field fights, a targeting rule on hits to the head, and changing pass interference penalties from a spot foul to a 15-yard penalty. The pass interference idea, which would mirror the college game, has been discussed in previous seasons but has never been adopted. The committee also wants to see a renewed focus on illegal contact beyond the allowable five yards past the line of scrimmage.
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
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