Isaiah Likely caught the ball.
Not by the NFL rulebook, apparently, no. But by the verb, “to catch”? That was a catch.
That’s what can be so infuriating about the NFL’s catch rules.
Somehow, Likely was ruled to have dropped the ball on a crucial play in Sunday’s Baltimore Ravens loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, one that puts the Steelers a game ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North.
Likely was in the end zone.
He took two steps with the ball in his possession.
It was ruled Likely didn’t take a third step, which apparently he needed to complete the act of the catch.
Here’s how that looked:
This was ruled a Steelers touchdown Week 4.
Today this catch from Likely for the Ravens was not ruled a touchdown, spot the difference. https://t.co/vygk2nkkJz pic.twitter.com/HFk4OAzVvA
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) December 7, 2025
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Not from a Ravens perspective, but goodness: What is going on here?
If that’s not a catch, what even is a catch?
The Ravens will be hurting from this call for a long time if they end up missing the playoffs.
And even the next day, it still looks quite painful.
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