Sunday’s controversial reversal of what looked to be a Jesse James touchdown catch that would’ve given the Pittsburgh Steelers the lead with 29 seconds to play against the New England Patriots has re-sparked debate over the NFL’s contentious catch rule.
Regardless of any personal feelings about the final outcome, the officials, after consulting video review, did indeed get the call right according to the letter of the law.
[blockquote]A player is considered to be going to the ground if he does not remain upright long enough to demonstrate that he is clearly a runner. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.
[cite]- NFL Rulebook[/cite][/blockquote]
Still not convinced?
The NFL’s football operations department tweeted a short video applying the above rule in an explanation as to why James’ catch was in fact not a catch.
The video, brief as it may be, does point to evidence that supports the league’s official ruling on the matter.
“As we can see here, [Ben] Roethlisberger completes a pass to James and James is going to the ground as he reaches the goal line,” NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron explains in the video. “That’s the key here, he is going to ground.”
Whether said ruling is personally satisfying – particularly to Steelers fans – is another story altogether.
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