Clarifying the NFL’s pylon rule following Marvin Harrison Jr’s near-touchdown vs. Seahawks

Harrison Jr was deemed out of bounds after his left foot hit the pylon and then touched out of bounds on an incomplete pass against the Seahawks.

There was a bit of confusion over whether or not Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr’s end zone catch against the Seattle Seahawks should’ve been ruled a touchdown.

Harrison definitely caught the ball with Josh Jobe in tight coverage, but he only got one foot down before his other foot hit the pylon and landed out of bounds. Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon challenged the ruling of incomplete pass, which was ultimately upheld.

For whatever reason, the FOX broadcast curiously didn’t bring in rules analyst Mike Pereira to explain the challenge. Play-by-play announcer Adam Amin noted that Harrison had his right foot hit inbounds twice, which is not the same as “both feet down.” What probably needed to be clarified was whether or not Harrison’s left foot hitting the pylon constituted as “inbounds.” There were a few comments in the Field Gulls and Revenge of the Birds game threads (plus social media) unsure of the rule.

Well if FOX wouldn’t clarify it, then I will.

Why Marvin Harrison Jr’s catch was ruled incomplete

The NFL rulebook states the following regarding a completed pass or an interception:

A forward pass is complete (by the offense) or intercepted (by the defense) in the field of play, at the sideline, or in the end zone if a player, who is inbounds:

(a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and

(b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and

(c) after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, performs any act common to the game (e.g., tuck the ball away, extend it forward, take an additional step, turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so.

Bold emphasis is mine.

Hitting the pylon is not the same as hitting the ground. That in itself is enough to state that Harrison was out of bounds.

Does touching the pylon constitute out of bounds?

It does not.

A player or an official is out of bounds when he touches a boundary line, or when he touches anything that is on or outside a boundary line, except a player, an official, or a pylon.

When is hitting the pylon with the football a touchdown?

In a scoring situation, the football hitting the pylon is different from a player hitting the pylon. Again, from the NFL rulebook:

A ball in player possession touches the pylon, provided that, after contact by an opponent, no part of the player’s body, except his hands or feet, struck the ground before the ball touched the pylon.

The Seahawks have been on the wrong end of this play before

I’m sure you’ll despise me for using this example, but the Seahawks can relate to this situation. In Super Bowl XL, right before the end of the first half, Matt Hasselbeck threw a deep pass to Darrell Jackson along the sideline. Jackson had his left foot inbounds while the right one scuffed the pylon before touching out of bounds. The pass was ruled incomplete and there was never even a booth review.

So there you have it. Hell of a catch by Harrison. Gotta get both feet or some other non-hand body part inbounds for it to count as a touchdown, though.