The Dallas Cowboys didn't have to play in Super Bowl LVIII but even still, the football gods found a way to throw a punch at their fans when the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers started to heat up.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk was there for Brock Purdy in overtime when the 49ers quarterback had to extend the action by scrambling before giving his fullback a chance for the ball near the sideline.
What happened afterward drew an inevitable reaction from NFL fans and even former Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant.
Juszczyk made a heck of a play by snatching the football with fully-extended arms while going to the ground. At contact, the ball slightly moved, and the play looked eerily similar to Dez's controversial no-catch at Lambeau Field from January of 2015.
I know at my Super Bowl party, it was immediately brought up. I'm guessing someone said something about it at yours. It seems the same goes for Dez. Bryant's reaction was simple, posting on Twitter/X that "That's not a catch."
Ouch. It's been so long and it still stings, perhaps even more so since there haven't been new, positive playoff memories to let that wound heal. Heck, even this January, the Cowboys lost to the Packers again.
Although I don't blame Bryant for his reaction given the circumstances, it's worth noting rules have changed since that heartbreaking day in Green Bay, though. The rule for making a catch while going to the ground was adjusted in 2018.
Per former NFL ref and current CBS' analyst Gene Steratore, here are the three key points that constitute for a catch:
- Secure control of the ball
- Have both feet in-bounds
- Perform an act common to the game (tuck the ball away, extend it forward, take an additional step, turn upfield, avoid/ward off an opponent or have the ball long enough to do so.
The key part of the above explanation is extending it forward. It's what Bryant did back then. It's what Kyle did on Sunday night. Ironically, the play itself didn't matter at the end. Both Dez and Juszczyk were on the losing side of their respective games, leading to a new dynasty in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs.
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