Watch: Is This Is a Touchdown? 'Clear As Mud' Rules Trigger NFL Controversy
Most sports fans have accepted that all sports officials and referees are prone to human error.
Mistakes happen, period. But when “mistakes” just look like raw inconsistency? Fans have a little tougher time accepting that.
The Baltimore Ravens hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game on Sunday, in what was effectively a contest for sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
The Ravens lost at home 27-22, giving their hated rival Steelers the division lead — for now.
But many Ravens fans — and the head coach — are having a tough time accepting that loss after a controversial call effectively wiped at least 6 points off the board.
The key play came when Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson found tight end Isaiah Likely in the endzone for what many assumed was the go-ahead touchdown.
Likely had seemingly checked off all the prerequisites of what constitutes a catch: He had both hands on the ball, and two feet down.
After he got that second foot down, however, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. knocked it out of his extended grasp.
Upon review, the referees would overturn the crucial touchdown.
You can watch the play in question — and some stunned analysis — below:
Isiah Likely’s TD Being Overturned is Absolutely Insane 😬 pic.twitter.com/yi4NqXRm9f
— Underdog Fantasy – Josh & Hayden (@UDFootballShow) December 8, 2025
NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth proffered the following explanation, per Fox News.
“The receiver controlled the ball in the air, had his right foot down, then his left foot down,” Butterworth said. “The control is the first aspect of the catch. The second aspect is two feet or a body part in bounds, which he did have. Then, the third step is an act common to the game and before he could get the third foot down, the ball was ripped out. Therefore, it was an incomplete pass.”
Many, including the above pundits, argued that extending your arms to keep the ball away from the defender should’ve satisfied the “an act common to the game” (commonly referred to as “making a football move”) rule.
The referees obviously don’t think Likely did, and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is still unhappy about it a day later.
“Do I think it needs more clarification? Yeah,” Harbaugh told reporters, according to Fox News. “It’s about as clear as mud right now. That’s how I feel about it.”
Social media erupted with examples similar to Likely’s catch, except that these were ruled in the positive:
After comparing these two plays, I think the NFL might be picking definitions out of a hat. AJ Brown = TD, Isiah Likely = incomplete. What is a catch? pic.twitter.com/Fhf1QB1EQQ
— Cover Pending (@CoverPending) December 8, 2025
But it’s not just random X accounts pillorying this move.
Right after the Thanksgiving day NFL slate, legendary former NFL head coach Tony Dungy ripped into the league for the inconsistency with how it calls pass interference penalties.
“When you watch NFL football all day long you just come to the conclusion our officials don’t know what pass interference is,” Dungy bemoaned on social media. “We tried making it reviewable a couple of years ago and that didn’t help.”
He added, “But these are monster penalties that are not called consistently at all.”
An unspoken undercurrent through all of these criticisms is the fact that the NFL is incredibly cozy with various sports betting sites.
And if the NFL will continue to work with the sports books, these criticisms about inconsistent officiating are only going to get louder — and angrier.
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