Mike Florio ,
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The catch rule, and the replay process, continues to be a conundrum for the NFL.
Sunday’s game between the Panthers and Saints included a key play that resulted in a ruling of a reception being overturned by replay review. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the league privately admitted to the Panthers after the game that the ruling of a catch should not have been overturned.
It happened late in the fourth quarter, when the game was tied at 17. Facing second and 10 from the Carolina 29 with 2:17 to play, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young connected with receiver Tetairoa McMillan on a 12-yard gain. The Saints challenged the ruling on the field. The replay process reversed the real-time conclusion that it was a catch.
And while the Panthers converted on the next play to continue the drive, the decision took a first down off the board during an important juncture of the game.
Some would argue it wasn’t a catch. McMillan gets two hands on the ball with a knee down. The ball then hits the ground, with his left hand coming off the ball. But the ball never moves while fully in possession of his right hand.
From Rule 3, Section 2, Article 7: “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.”
Said Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira on the broadcast: “He used the ground to complete the catch. He’s going to the ground, and the ball hits the ground. Yes, he had it in control initially, but the bottom hand comes off the ball and they changed it, kept this as an incomplete pass.”
Regardless, the league privately admitted to the Panthers that the ruling on the field should not have been reversed, because it was not clear and obvious that McMillan had failed to make the catch.
Therein lies the biggest current confusion regarding the catch rule specifically and the replay process generally. The person(s) performing the replay reviews are not consistently applying the replay standard. Rulings on the field should be overturned only when it’s clear and obvious that a mistake was made.
In this case, the league later concluded it wasn’t. Not that it matters in hindsight. Moving forward, the question becomes if and when the replay process will begin to apply the correct standard for replay review on a consistent basis.
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