What is a catch in the NFL? A breakdown of the rule for 2021 playoffs

A quick explainer of the NFL catch rule for the 2021 playoffs.

It’s the 2021 playoffs, and plenty of folks are turning into the sport for the first time this season. If you’re a fan of the Browns, maybe it’s been a while since you’ve gotten to watch your favorite team in the playoffs.

So, some of you might need a brief refresher on the rules of the game. We’re going to be going through a few of these in this series, but let’s start off with a good one, a simple question that’s really, really, hard to answer: What is a catch? 

While that question can be very difficult to answer, the three main components are this:

1. A player must “secure control of the ball” before the ball touches the ground (though it can touch the ground if it’s secure in the hands)
2. The player must touch both feet or any part of his body other than his hands inbounds (this is different than college rules, which only requires one foot)
3. The player must, after the first two parts of this, perform “any act common to the game.” This can be running, juking, securing the ball, whatever. This is sometimes called a “football move.”

The third one is where things get a bit hairy, because even if a player manages to catch a ball and get both feet inbounds, if he then immediately hits the ground and the ball pops out, it’s ruled incomplete … and not a fumble.

If he performs “any act common to the game” — runs, jukes, whatever, and then the ball pops out … it will be considered a fumble.

If you want to get really into the nitty gritty, here’s the full Rule 8, Section 1, Articles 3-4 in the league’s rule book.

A player who makes a catch may advance the ball. 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:

1. secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and
2. touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and
3. after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, performs any act common to the game (e.g., tuck the ball away, extend it forward, take an additional step, turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so. 

Notes:

• Movement of the ball does not automatically result in loss of control.
• If a player, who satisfied (a) and (b), but has not satisfied (c), contacts the ground and loses control of the ball, it is an incomplete pass if the ball hits the ground before he regains control, or if he regains control out of bounds
• A receiver is considered a player in a defenseless posture throughout the entire process of the catch and until the player is capable of avoiding or warding off the impending contact of an opponent.
• If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. If the ball is muffed after simultaneous touching by two such players, all the players of the passing team become eligible to catch the loose ball.
• If a player, who is in possession of the ball, is held up and carried out of bounds by an opponent before both feet or any part of his body other than his hands touches the ground inbounds, it is a completed or intercepted pass. It is not necessary for the player to maintain control of the ball when he lands out of bounds.