# If a receiver catches the ball and is pushed out of bounds... **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 22, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984 "2010-01-22T12:55:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/1 "2010-01-22T12:55:12Z")
… while still in the air, is it a catch or is it a incomplete? ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/2 "2010-01-22T13:09:54Z")
In the NFL? Up until the beginning of this season or the one previous, your scenario would have resulted in a complete catch because of the “force out” rule. That rule has been removed and now the pass would be ruled incomplete. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/3 "2010-01-22T13:40:43Z")
What **Jules** says is correct. This even just happened in the Dallas - Vikings game when the poor Cowboys couldn’t find their butt with both hands. Finally made a decent pass and catch, only for it to be ruled incomplete. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/4 "2010-01-22T13:42:50Z")
I’m one of the few (apparently) that wasn’t a fan of removing that rule. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/5 "2010-01-22T13:48:58Z")
The only exception in the current rule is that the receiver cannot be carried out of bounds. So the defender can’t catch the receiver on his way down, hold him off the ground and carry him out of bounds. That would be a catch. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/6 "2010-01-22T13:53:15Z")
I don’t know if I love it, but of all the rule changes they could have made to slow the erosion of the defense’s impact on the game this is one that probably has the least effect either on the safety or watchability of the game. Although the best rule change would be to eliminate field goals from the game. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/7 "2010-01-22T13:55:25Z")
It should be noted that the previous allowance was at the disgression of the ref. It was up to his interpretation as to whether if left alone the receiver would have been able to remain in bounds or not. I’d guess it’s in part due to the fact that that introduced a fair degree of imprecision that the rule was amended. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/8 "2010-01-22T14:03:54Z")
Heh, sorry for the mental typo… make that the “discretion” of the ref. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/9 "2010-01-22T14:14:44Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Heh, sorry for the mental typo… make that the “discretion” of the ref. Seemed more apropos the first way. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/10 "2010-01-22T15:32:55Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I’m one of the few (apparently) that wasn’t a fan of removing that rule. My father-in-law doesn’t like it. I agree with **Eternal** , most rule changes these days further erode the utility of a defensive back’s mere existence, so this alteration is totally fine, IMHO. It also removes one more “judgment call” from the officials. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-receiver-catches-the-ball-and-is-pushed-out-of-bounds/525984/11 "2010-01-22T18:34:11Z")
> [@Jules\_Andre](#): > > In the NFL? Up until the beginning of this season or the one previous, your scenario would have resulted in a complete catch because of the “force out” rule. That rule has been removed and now the pass would be ruled incomplete. > [@faithfool](#): > > What **Jules** says is correct. This even just happened in the Dallas - Vikings game when the poor Cowboys couldn’t find their butt with both hands. Finally made a decent pass and catch, only for it to be ruled incomplete. Thanks, guys. Yes, in the NFL, and that’s what I thought. But in the Dallas game it seemed to me that on one occasion it was ruled incomplete, and on another it was ruled a completion, so I got confused. I’m happy with the rule as it is.