The NFL's catch rules don't make sense but the ball still never lies.
Despite everything, it is 2023, and we still do not know what clearly constitutes a catch in professional football. And unfortunately, the NFL’s bizarre rules only add confusion whenever a key catch sequence comes up.
Take this key end-of-first-half sequence between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals on Sunday as a perfect example.
After Arizona drove down to the red zone, Kyler Murray launched a perfect dime to his tight end, Trey McBride, who made an acrobatic catch for what appeared to be a touchdown. But this is the NFL, which insists that a catch’s “full process” be completed every time no matter what — a.k.a. the “Calvin Johnson Rule.” Upon further review, McBride’s almost-perfect catch was taken off the board as a result.
He wasted no time redeeming himself against a stout Pittsburgh defensive stand on the very next play:
CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore thought Cardinals TE Trey McBride had a touchdown vs the Steelers, on what was initially ruled a touchdown.
But after review, it was ruled incomplete.
McBride then scored a touchdown that actually counted on the next play.
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— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 3, 2023
Even with the NFL’s nonsense catch rules, one evergreen rule trumps all in sports: ball don’t lie.
