Did He Catch It?

Dez Bryant's "non-catch" is one of the most controversial calls in the history of the NFL. It was the 4th and 2 play for the Dallas Cowboys against the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 NFC Divisional Playoff game. With 4 min and 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Dallas Cowboys found themselves down by 5 at the Green Bay 32 yard-line and a field goal in this position would fail to give them the lead.

Tony Romo snaps the ball looking toward his number 1 receiver knowing that it would be up to him to make a play on the ball. After releasing down the field, Dez Bryant turns toward the quarterback to see the ball headed his way. On his hip is top-notch cornerback Sam Shields. Dez has a significant size advantage on Shields and makes it count.

Dez Bryant successfully climbs the ladder and grabs the ball with both hands. On his way down he makes contact with cornerback Sam Shields and pulls the ball in to secure the catch.

Bryant comes down with the ball. In the NFL a receiver must touch both feet on the ground inbounds after jumping for a catch with full possession in order for it to be a completed catch. Bryant successfully does so.

After touching both feet on the ground, Dez smells the end zone. He reaches for the goal line with hopes of giving his team the lead.

Dez Bryant loses control of the ball when reaching for the white line. The ball clearly leaves his possession but Dez regathers the ball so that it cannot be ruled a fumble and loss of possession. The Referee signals that the receiver for the Cowboys is down at the 1 yard line after completing the catch on 4th down.  

Play is later stopped and the play is then reviewed. The referees then announce to the fans that the play is overturned. They believe that Dez Bryant did not maintain possession of the ball and that the pass was incomplete. This ruling would give the ball back to the Green Bay Packers since the Cowboys had not converted on their 4th down attempt. Dez Bryant along with the rest of the Cowboys are furious with the call and cannot believe that the ruling had been overturned.



The process of making a catch gets tricky once they player goes to the ground. The rules say that a player must maintain possession through contact with the ground in order to have made a catch. This rule is negated however by the rule stating that a player that becomes a runner with the football does not have to maintain possession after hitting the ground but rather that player is down by contact if touched by an opponent. This rule gives room for interpretation and the referees on the field during the review believed that Dez Bryant was not yet a runner and had lost control of the ball when going to the ground. This call was so controversial because according to the eyes of the referee Dez Bryant did not catch the ball and yet countless people watching the game knew that he indeed caught the ball and had possession. The rule failed to recognize what had happened on the field as a catch and opened the door for renegotiating the rules which are still being ironed out today. Did he catch the ball? Well if the NFL competition committee released a statement after the game saying that it indeed should have been ruled a catch, then I believe that is enough evidence to prove that he did. What is heartbreaking for the Cowboys and their fans is the fact that the play in question played such a pivotal role in the outcome of the contest. If that play had been ruled a catch, as it was later confirmed, the Cowboys could have won that game and who knows, maybe even the Superbowl.