Catch Rule Correctly Applied to Isaiah Likely Drop?

“It’s about as clear as mud right now,” John Harbaugh said on Monday in reference to the NFL’s catch rule.

Isaiah Likely appeared to pull in a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh on Sunday, only for it to be overturned after the tight end “failed to complete the process of the catch.”

By the NFL rulebook, the play was correctly called an incomplete pass. The specific place to find why it was ruled this way is Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3 of the NFL Rulebook. The subsections that describe the process of the catch are as follows:

(a): secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground

Likely clearly secures the ball, and the ball touching the ground was never the issue here.

(b): touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands

Likely had two feet clearly down and in bounds, but subsection (c) is where the controversy arises.

(c): after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, clearly performs any act common to the game (e.g., extend the ball forward, take an additional step, tuck the ball away and turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so.

What is an “act common to the game” in the first place? Nobody really knows, but the rulebook lists a few examples, such as extending the ball forward.

So why wouldn’t the reach of the football from Likely count as the football move? Because Likely extended the football well before having two feet down, it doesn’t count as that third element. The “act common to the game” must occur after two feet were down.

To have a completed pass, the receiver must:

1.) Secure control of the ball
2.) Have both feet or a body part (other than hands) in-bounds
3.) Perform a football move (take a third step, tuck the ball away, turn upfield, avoid/ward off an opponent) or to maintain control… pic.twitter.com/H6qxuVybd6

— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) December 7, 2025

This part opens a whole new can of worms. If you’re in the end zone, why do you need a football move in the first place? Where else does Isaiah Likely need to go? Unfortunately, there’s nothing to differentiate a catch in the end zone versus a catch in any other part of the field, although logically it feels that there should be.

One argument I’ve seen is that the toe tap catch shouldn’t count if you need a third step or a football move. If the ball never comes loose, and the receiver maintains full control, the elements listed under subsection (c) are not required. The third element is only used in deciding if a receiver possessed the ball for long enough to consider it a catch, fumble, or incomplete pass.

I’d like to frame it in a different way that can maybe help some people take off their purple glasses that they’ve watched the play through over and over. If this occurred out of the end zone, and it was ruled a fumble by Likely, what would your opinion be? This would have sent Ravens fans into an outrage because Likely never got that third step or made that football move after having two feet down.

The NFL stood by the call postgame. “The control is the first aspect of the catch. The second aspect is two feet or a body part in bounds, which he did have. Then, the third step is an act common to the game and before he could get the third foot down, the ball was ripped out. Therefore, it was an incomplete pass,” said NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth.

The Travis Jones unnecessary roughness call and the Aaron Rodgers catch and down by contact are two calls from this game that are much more debatable, but by rule, Isaiah Likely didn’t make the catch.

And if you really want to be mad about something, watch it even more closely: the ball isn’t even punched out. Likely just…drops it. He has the ball in both hands. The DB pushes his right arm away from the ball, and instead of holding it with his left, he lets it fall out of his grip.

Isaiah Likely got ROBBED pic.twitter.com/CHvBBtoORT

— The Ravens Realm (@RealmRavens) December 7, 2025

Just hold the ball, 80, and we aren’t talking about this.

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