The Tennessee Titans had a rough afternoon last Sunday, as they failed to find the end zone in a 20-12 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Dropped passes and penalties played a big role in the loss but there was also a poor coaching decision by head coach Brian Callahan regarding a missed call by the referees. As it turns out, as Callahan acknowledged on Monday, that he didn’t know a rule about what does and doesn’t constitute a catch in the NFL.
The play in question took place late in the third quarter as the Broncos led, 13-12. On first-and-20, Titans quarterback Cam Ward looked downfield to receiver Elic Ayomanor on a sideline throw.
Ayomanor corralled the ball despite physical coverage from cornerback Riley Moss. He fell out of bounds as he landed with the ball, and officials ruled the play an incomplete pass.
But Ayomanor actually got his elbow down inbounds before his body hit out of bounds. The play should have been ruled a legal catch.
Callahan didn’t understand this. He was asked after the game why he didn’t challenge the play and explained the decision with an incorrect understanding of the NFL rulebook.
“You’ve got to get a foot inbounds too,” Callahan said. “Which we didn’t have a clean look at whether his foot was down as well. An elbow doesn’t equal two feet. So his foot would have had to come down as well. We didn’t have a clean look. So the call from upstairs was that it wasn’t worth challenging.”
Callahan was wrong in his understanding of the rule. Per the NFL rulebook, Ayomanor didn’t have to get a foot down in addition to his elbow. In the sense that two feet down inbounds with possession of the ball constitutes a catch, an elbow actually does equal two feet.
Here’s the language on what constitutes a catch from the NFL rulebook, which states that a player who secures the ball and lands inbounds “with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands” has made a legal catch:
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
Ayomanor caught the ball, and it was a play that warranted a challenge flag from the Titans. It’s a play that could have changed the trajectory of the game.
