Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate had a controversial touchdown catch against the Chicago Bears Sunday.
That catch is calling into question the rule of possessing a ball through the play to be deemed a catch, also referred to as the “Calvin Johnson” rule. Tate’s catch was ultimately ruled a touchdown after initially being ruled an interception, which is further proof nobody seems to understand what the rules actually are.
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Matthew Stafford finds Golden Tate in the end zone. Tate loses the ball but…doesn’t matter. Touchdown. #CHIvsDEThttp://t.co/8oIFqMaj4Z
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2015
That was ruled a touchdown when several nearly identical plays have been ruled incomplete. Watch these videos below of plays that were all deemed not catches under the exact same rules as the Golden Tate touchdown.
Dez Bryant against the Green Bay Packers
(Screenshot/NFL)
Bengals’ Tyler Eifert against the Baltimore Ravens
Deviant Freeman against the Washington Redskins
The most famous one of them all: Calvin Johnson against the Chicago Bears