What is a catch? That’s a question NFL fans, players, coaches, and rules officials have had to grapple with more and more over the years as the pro football rulebook has gotten more complicated and overwrought, and each week of the season brings a new adventure in trying to answer that question. It’s rare for the league office in New York to acknowledge they made a mistake, but that’s what Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports happened this week.
Florio says the NFL reached out to the Carolina Panthers and apologized for overturning a 12-yard catch by rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan late in Sunday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints. First-year Saints coach Kellen Moore challenged the ruling and it was instead made an incomplete pass. While McMillan had both hands on the ball and a knee down at the spot, his left hand came away from the ball as it hit the turf. Citing Rule 3, Section 2, Article 7 from the NFL rulebook, Florio shared: “It is a catch, or an interception, if, in the process of attempting to possess the ball, a player secures control of the ball prior to it touching the ground, and that control is maintained during and after the ball has touched the ground.”
So it should have been an unsuccessful challenge for New Orleans. Instead of being 1-and-4 on challenges this year (including an earlier unsuccessful bid in this Panthers game), Moore should be 0-for-5. Oh well. We’ve seen the Saints get hosed by bad calls so many times over the years, including the worst non-call in NFL playoff history, that it’s tough to feel sympathetic for Panthers fans. Better luck next time.