The catch rule has become a problem for the NFL, all over again. And it could (if not should) become a topic for discussion in the looming offseason conversations regarding potential tweaks to the rules.
At least one head coach plans to advocate for a careful examination of the various controversial catch rulings from the 2025 season, with the goal of asking questions and obtaining clarity as to what is and isn’t a catch.
There are three current problems with the catch rule, in our view.
First, the league focuses too heavily on taking a third step to complete the process of making a catch. Even though the rulebook expressly lists other ways to perform an “act common to the game” (extend the ball forward, take an additional step, avoid or ward off an opponent, or have possession long enough to do any of those things) after securing possession and getting both feet down, the league has inexplicably made the third act all about taking a third step.
Second, the league created two different standards in defending controversial rulings from key games. On December 7, an interception in the Steelers-Ravens game was reversed to a catch by Aaron Rodgers based on reasoning (as articulated by NFL V.P. of instant replay Mark Butterworth) that cannot be reconciled with the failure to do a full replay review (presumably involving Butterworth) of the key overtime interception in the Bills-Broncos playoff game.
Said Butterworth in a pool report regarding the Rodgers catch: “The offensive player had control of the ball and as he was going to the ground, there was a hand in there, but he never lost control of the ball and then his knees hit the ground in control. So therefore, by rule, he is down by contact with control of the ball.”
Here’s the real issue that needs to be resolved, even if it means that the league has no choice but to admit that one of the two rulings was wrong — does the requirement to maintain possession when going to the ground not apply if a player is down by contact with possession of the ball? Under the Butterworth standard, it doesn’t. Under the outcome of the Bills-Broncos play, it does.
Third, and this one is broader than the catch rule: How does replay work? Who makes the decision(s)? And what is the standard for activating a full-blown review, in lieu of the “Orwellian” involvement of expedited replay assistance?
The threshold question is whether the league cares enough to spend the time and effort necessary to raise and resolve these issues. It should. The integrity of the game resides in the margins, and the most critical line the NFL must clearly draw relates to when, where, and how a catch has, or hasn’t, been made.