Jahan Dotson, like the rest of us, would like to know what exactly is a catch in the NFL.
Washington Commanders wide receiver Jahan Dotson had struggled through the first seven weeks of the 2023 NFL season. Entering Sunday’s Week 8 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Dotson had only 22 receptions for 183 yards and a touchdown.
For a player known to have terrific hands and an excellent ability to separate, Dotson struggled with separation and drops early this season.
Fans wondered when Dotson would have his breakout performance.
In Sunday’s 38-31 loss to the Eagles, Dotson caught eight passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. Dotson routinely burned Philadelphia defensive backs, but one play will stand out for Dotson and the Commanders.
On a third-and-5 with 2:21 remaining in the game, quarterback Sam Howell found Dotson on a shallow route across the middle. At first glance, it appeared to be a catch and a first down. The officials thought so, too.
But in a weird sequence of events, officials stopped play and the TV cameras caught them talking to both coaches. The FOX broadcast crew wasn’t even sure what was going on. Finally, we learned, that Dotson’s catch was actually ruled incomplete, and the Commanders were challenging the ruling.
It would take several minutes, but, predictably, the officials stuck with the call on the field — not the initial call, but the second call — and stayed with the incomplete ruling. It was fourth down and Howell was sacked on the next play, ending any chance of Washington tying the game.
The replay showed the ball was moving in Dotson’s hands but it never hit the ground. By rule — whatever the rules are these days — it should have been a catch.
After the game, Dotson was perplexed at what is or isn’t a catch in the NFL.
He’s right. It’s a question many have wanted answered for years because it can different each week. In the third quarter of the same game, Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith “caught” a pass on fourth down that was ruled complete. Upon further review, it was clear, Smith didn’t catch the ball, the Eagles scored a few plays later and tied the game. It would have been Washington’s ball.
That mistake was on Washington coach Ron Rivera for not challenging the play.
After the game, Rivera explained what he was told on Dotson’s play.
“They told me that New York decided it wasn’t a completion, and I struggle because it took them so long to get it correct that you’d think that they didn’t emphatically know that it was an incompletion,” Rivera said per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.
Rivera has a point here.
Ultimately, the Commanders played well offensively, but made too many mistakes, dropping another heartbreaker to the Eagles. Washington’s offense scored 62 points vs. Philadelphia and lost both games.
