Dec 22, 2017 3 min read

The rule must be amended. And we all know which one.

It’s that reception rule the National Football League adopted in a moment of lunacy, the one that may end up costing the Pittsburgh Steelers home field throughout the upcoming playoffs. The one that overturned a probable game-winning touchdown catch by Jesse James Sunday. The one that ultimately enabled the New England Patriots – the despised Patriots – to escape Pittsburgh with a victory that positions them to become the American Football Conference’s No. 1 seed, instead of the Steelers.

Oh, the irony . . . a pivotal play by a man named Jesse James resulting in robbery.

James, the Steelers’ tight end, appeared to cap a frantic last-minute rally with a 10-yard score. He pulled in Ben Roethlisberger’s pass a yard and a half shy of the goal line and dived into the end zone. Replays showed him to be in complete control of the ball as he crossed the line, which should have been a touchdown and a three-point lead that likely would have expanded to four with the extra point.

There were 28 seconds on the clock, probably too little time for even the inimitable Tom Brady to direct his team to a necessary touchdown.

Hold on there, Steelers Nation. That top seed would soon go to seed. Just after hitting the ground – well after breaking the plane of the goal line – James juggled the ball slightly, making this a possible incompletion.

He had to “complete” the play by securing the ball until the play was determined to be over.

In the purest sense of the senseless rule, James did not complete the play. The rule reads: “If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone.”

But this is ridiculous. He had made the catch long before breaking the plane. How did his juggling of the ball differ from a running back carrying it to the line, then fumbling a half-second afterward but being credited with a touchdown? Breaking the plane is sufficient in that instance.

The Steelers still had time to seize a victory, but appeared to be mired in confusion and botched the next two plays, the second a tipped interception that cost them a probable tying field goal. Get to overtime and take your chances.

The team also went conservative with about four minutes to go, attempting to preserve a lead instead of attacking – as they had done successfully during the evening. Coach Mike Tomlin and his staff did not respond well to the situation.

It is now in the past and the Steelers must refocus. They still have an upper hand on the second seed, and a first-round playoff bye, but they have to avoid being upset by either Houston on Christmas Day or pathetic Cleveland the following Sunday. That would secure home field against anyone in the AFC postseason field except New England, a rematch that is quite possible.

Still . . . how can the Steelers and Steelers Nation not be upset by the overturned score? That was the key to the game, and it opened the door to pleas to eliminate a rule that is confusing, inconsistently interpreted and unfair.