Officials continue to ignore the other ways to finish a catch, beyond taking a third step

Posted by Admin October 5, 2026 NFL

After years of uncertainty as to what is and isn’t a catch, the NFL added a wrinkle that streamlines the process.

If the player gets a third foot down, it’s a catch.

The problem is that the officials now focus on the third foot as the litmus test for a catch, ignoring the other ways to complete the process of making a catch without taking a third step.

NFL officiating spokesman Walt Anderson essentially confirmed the third-step obsession after the Packers-Bears playoff game. By all appearances, that application continues — rulebook be damned.

According to Rule 8, Article 1, Section 3: “A forward pass is complete (by the offense) or intercepted (by the defense) in the field of play, at the sideline, or in the end zone if a player, who is inbounds: (a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and (b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and (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.”

In the second quarter of Sunday night’s game between the Lions and Panthers, Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs made a catch, got two feet down, tucked the ball, and turned upfield. He was immediately hit, he fumbled, and Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown ran it in for a touchdown.

The ruling on the field was that Gibbs hadn’t caught the ball. It was upheld after a challenge by the Lions.

But Gibbs made the catch, tucked the ball, and turned upfield. Even without taking a third step, it was a catch, a fumble, and a Lions touchdown. (Or at least it should have been.)

It’s another example of how the officials disregard the rules by developing their own way of applying the rules. The fact that the ruling on the field was upheld on replay review shows that whoever was scrutinizing the play at 345 Park Avenue is looking only for three feet, too.