Was Kareem Hunt’s touchdown really a catch or not?

Let’s look back to ask a question that no one can seem to answer these days in the NFL with a round of “Was it a catch?” looking at Kareem Hunt’s non-touchdown.

The most controversial play from the Kansas City Chiefs victory over the Los Angeles Chargers game Saturday night was the Kareem Hunt touchdown catch (or not) in the end zone. “Was it a catch or was it not a catch?” is a question that will be debated all week.

Let me save you the trouble: per NFL rules, this was not a catch.

I fully understand that people watch games with their bright red glasses on and tend to see things only in ways that benefit the Chiefs. But when trying to make the correct call based on the rules, you need to take those glasses off and understand what the reality is. The only reasonable debate anyone can have is: should it have been ruled a completion initially. It was a bang-bang play that didn’t look right. He bobbled it and the ball went to the ground where it did touch the ground. The two officials closest to the play both called it incomplete immediately.

I don’t know how many people realized that because the announcers on TV made the mistake of saying it was a catch when the refs were clearly signaling incomplete. There was no debate on the field, and it was the call from the second the play was over. I know I agreed with them watching it live as it just didn’t look right and I thought it hit the ground. But it was close enough that I knew the Chiefs would challenge it, and they were right to do so.

Any debate over whether this was a catch or not should end right there. Once the call was made on the field and once it went to review, the refs got the call 100% right. There was no clear camera angle to say for certain when Hunt gained full control of the ball. This meant you couldn’t say whether the ground helped him or not. The bobble after he pulled the ball back up also didn’t help because, as the announcers mentioned, was it caused because the ball hit the ground or was it caused by Hunt hitting the ground? Either way, it could be said he never had real strong control or he wouldn’t have bobbled it at all.

As with any replay, the angle must be clear and convincing to overturn and there was nothing clear and convincing about those replays. Now I’ve heard people who refuse to take their red glasses off say that the ball didn’t move when it hit the ground so he clearly had full control. While that is a valid argument, the arguments I listed above are just as valid. In a courtroom that qualifies as reasonable doubt. And just like in a court room if you have reasonable doubt with a replay then, per NFL rules, the play must stand as called. The refs said as much with their announcement as they stated the call stands, they did not say the play was confirmed meaning the replays were inconclusive.

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Had the call on the field been a touchdown, it would have stayed a touchdown for all the same reasons. So again if you want to debate whether it should have been ruled a catch at the beginning that is ok, but that’s a tough argument to make. The player reached down to chase the ball he dropped and the ball did hit the ground. Both officials made the same call immediately and definitely. So by the NFL rules and not wearing red glasses, this was the correct call both on the field and after replay.

If you want to be made about the play, don’t be mad at the refs. Be mad at Alex Smith for throwing such a garbage pass from only five yards away. He was wide open, so just hit him in the chest with the ball. Be mad at Hunt for not catching the ball the first time it hit him in the hands. Yes, it was a bad throw, but it did hit him right in the hands and he should have caught it from the start. Every one of you reading this, including me, have been told by every coach you’ve ever had to never leave the game in the hands of the officials. If either one of those two had done their jobs, then there is no debate and you don’t have to worry about a review or anything.

Luckily this play didn’t come back to bite the Chiefs. Harrison Butker drilled his field goal and Hunt made up for it with a huge drive the next time they got the ball and plowed a rushing touchdown. Had we lost the game, this would be a huge deal, but even if it was a huge deal, the refs still got the call right. So many people seem to not understand the catch rules in the NFL when it’s really simple, a receiver needs to do their job and clearly catch the ball and hand it to the ref. When you take emotion out of the debate and just look at the play with open eyes and no pre-determined opinions, you’ll find the refs get these right most of the time.