# Question about inelegible receivers **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 16, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-inelegible-receivers/827903 "2019-01-16T23:47:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**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 19, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-inelegible-receivers/827903/21 "2019-01-19T00:42:19Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > … > By the way, does anyone know if there is any official NFL guidance or rule saying that ineligible receivers are OK downfield on a screen pass? I can’t see anything in the rules, but it’s never called on a screen, even though the blockers are often way past the line of scrimmage. Pay closer attention. They’re not past the line until the pass is thrown. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-inelegible-receivers/827903/22 "2019-01-19T00:47:17Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > If I remember correctly, decades ago a forward pass deflected from an offensive player could not be legally caught by another offensive player unless it had also been subsequently touched by a defensive player. You’re correct – that rule was the focus of the controversy around Franco Harris’s “[Immaculate Reception](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Reception)” catch in the 1972 divisional playoff against the Raiders. The officials ruled that Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum had touched the pass after it had bounced off of Frenchy Fuqua, before Harris caught it. If Tatum hadn’t touched it (and Tatum maintained that he hadn’t), Harris couldn’t have legally caught the ball. The Wikipedia article on the play notes that the rule was repealed before the 1978 season. ---
**Author:** ![Anglachel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Anglachel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anglachel)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-inelegible-receivers/827903/23 "2019-01-19T15:20:09Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > By the way, does anyone know if there is any official NFL guidance or rule saying that ineligible receivers are OK downfield on a screen pass? I can’t see anything in the rules, but it’s never called on a screen, even though the blockers are often way past the line of scrimmage. Linemen can block down field if the forward pass does not cross the line of scrimmage. That’s how it works for screen passes, the pass is thrown behind the line. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-inelegible-receivers/827903/24 "2019-01-19T17:45:54Z")
> [@Anglachel](#): > > Linemen can block down field if the forward pass does not cross the line of scrimmage. That’s how it works for screen passes, the pass is thrown behind the line. This is not a true statement in the NFL. See the previously linked NFL rules book. ---
**Author:** ![Anglachel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Anglachel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anglachel)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-inelegible-receivers/827903/25 "2019-01-19T17:55:36Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > This is not a true statement in the NFL. See the previously linked NFL rules book. My bad. It is definitely allowed in college though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-inelegible-receivers/827903.md?page=1)