Fansided
Fansided

Horrendous rule has now earned New England Patriots two wins

By Sayre Bedinger

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 17: Patrick Chung
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 17: Patrick Chung /
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The New England Patriots always seem to be the benefactors of the NFL’s horrible rules, or lack of correct rules. Sunday in Pittsburgh was no different…

What is a catch?

This is a stupid question that now has to be asked almost every single game every single week because NFL officials can’t seem to get it 100 percent correct.

The fact that there are processes that are up for interpretation as to what is or isn’t a catch is evidence enough that we have come to the point of vastly over-thinking things. One team, however, has benefit from the new catch interpretations more than any other — the New England Patriots.

On Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that will probably decide home field advantage in the AFC, the Patriots scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion to go up by three points on the Steelers with less than a minute to play.

This may be another post entirely, but the Patriots’ go-ahead drive was mostly thanks to Rob Gronkowski, who shouldn’t even be playing right now because of the ridiculous, unsportsmanlike, inhumane head slamming he did of Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White.

Anyway…

The Patriots’ go-ahead drive was answered immediately by the Steelers, who went down the field in two plays — one a huge catch and run by JuJu Smith-Schuster, the other an apparent touchdown catch by Jesse James — to reclaim the lead with about 30 seconds left in the game.

Only, Jesse James’ touchdown catch was called a catch on the field, and overturned by replay:

This silly discussion of what is and isn’t a catch based on the NFL’s rules of what is a catch is starting to get insane. From my point of view, James has clear control of the ball, he has made a football move toward the goal line, has crossed the goal line, and has possession of the football with his knee down and the ball breaking the plain.

Only, when James hits the ground, the ball is dislodged, and he loses complete control of the ball.

This should be a touchdown, whether or not you had a rooting interest in this game, and regardless of what the NFL’s dumb rule is.

What about another catch call in a game involving the Patriots?

Why was James’ catch called an incomplete pass, but this wasn’t?

The Patriots needed that play from Cooks to win a home game against the Houston Texans, the fourth worst team in the NFL this season record-wise. That was back when DeShaun Watson was playing, however.

With that Cooks play, it seemed like — at the very least — the NFL was getting a bit more lenient on the rules of what was and wasn’t a catch. There are other examples of this in the NFL this year, which only leads to the inconsistency of the rule.

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The Patriots have now benefit from this asinine rule very late in games twice this season, ultimately resulting in them winning the game.

For the Steelers, it was a tipped ball on a fake spike by Ben Roethlisberger resulting in an interception that did them in.

That play, however, should have never happened.

James’ catch should’ve stood. Just like the ground cannot cause a fumble, neither should the ground be able to cause an overruling of an actual catch like this. If a player never has full control of the  ball and it is also dislodged by the impact of the ground, then that would be an incomplete pass.

If a player has control of the ball and quite literally a touchdown by rule, there should be nothing that happens after that preventing the play from being what it is — a touchdown. It would be no different than a player breaking the plain when diving over the top of the offensive line, getting knocked back behind the line after the initial impact, and the play still resulting in a touchdown.

Two Patriots games being decided by the interpretation of the catch rule is two too many.

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