FOX NFL Rules Analyst Says Overturned Isaiah Likely Touchdown Catch Was Correct Call

Nearly three months after a crucial Likely touchdown catch was overturned on replay in the Ravens’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a season-altering game, the controversial ruling has become a hot topic again.

Earlier this week, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent appeared to suggest the ruling was incorrect. However, the league subsequently clarified that while the play was discussed in detail Monday as part of a conversation as to what constitutes a catch, it wasn’t among the five replay rulings from this past season that Vincent said the league would like a do-over on.

FOX NFL rules analyst and former Vice President of NFL Officiating Mike Pereira weighed in on the subject on “Glenn Clark Radio.” He believes the ruling that it wasn’t a catch was correct because Likely didn’t complete a third step with possession of the ball.

“The rule as it stands right now, when they changed it a couple years ago, they said it’s control, two feet, and then time,” Pereira said. “So then it says, ‘What is time?’ It says examples of time are turning upfield, tucking the ball away, taking a third step, or having the time to do any one of those things, even if you don’t do it. So it’s so ambiguous that really the one thing that dominates from the rule right now is the third step. That’s the first thing they’re looking at – is there a third step with control?

“For those of us that look at the rule the way it is written now, [the Likely play was] clearly incomplete because the ball comes out just when that third foot is touching the ground.”

Pereira said replay has muddied what is or isn’t a catch.

“Look, it’s a mess,” Pereira said. “The whole thing is a mess on a catch, and I think replay is what created that. Because if you go back, you put it in the eyes of the officials, you went by facts and replay – control, two feet, that’s it. After that, it was up to the official, in his eyes, when it comes to something as judgmental as time, you just put it in the officials’ eyes, and you said to the officials, when in doubt, rule it incomplete. That was fine, and I think it worked fine for decades, but then replay got involved in this – time and doing something different – and I think that’s what kind of mucked it up.”