The NFL unveiled some new guidelines this season for what constitutes a catch, and we saw a great example of the way things have changed on a play Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins made on Sunday.
In the first half of his team’s game against the Denver Broncos, Hopkins made a catch for a first down and lost control of the ball as he hit the turf. The ruling on the field was that he completed the catch first. See for yourself:
Challenge incoming on this DeAndre Hopkins catch. pic.twitter.com/2bgkZrDKsw
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) November 4, 2018
In past years, that would have definitely been ruled incomplete. It barely looked like Hopkins would have been able to make a football move in real-time, but most fans would agree that he clearly caught the ball and only lost control after his knee touched down and he hit the ground.
If you compare the Hopkins catch with the controversial incomplete pass that may have cost the Pittsburgh Steelers an important game last year, you can see just how much the rules have changed from last year to 2018.
