Bills WR Brandin Cooks starts to lose control of the ball after getting hit by Broncos CB Ja'quan McMillian and rolling over. McMillian came up with the ball and officials called it an interception. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bills fans won't like what NFL has in mind for changes to catch rule

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Jan 22, 2026 8:50 PM ET

There is perhaps no rule in the NFL that is under more consistent scrutiny than its catch rule. That scrutiny again reached a boiling point this postseason thanks to controversial rulings in the Buffalo Bills-Denver Broncos game, as well as the Chicago Bears-Los Angeles Rams game during the divisional round of the playoffs.

Despite that scrutiny, as well as the public complaints of Bills owner Terry Pegula over the "bad call" that played a role in their overtime loss, the NFL reportedly has no interest in recommending any changes to its catch rule this offseason.

NFL thinks catch rule is clear

Mark Maske of the Washington Post reported on Thursday that the NFL believes the catch rule is clear, and that while teams are more than welcome to recommend their own rule change proposals, the league itself is not going to push for any.

Instead, the league might seek to improve the clarity of the rule and take steps to improve clarity on calls that get made in games.

In a lot of these cases the clarity issues come down to what sort of viewpoint or rooting interest you have in the game. If you are Brandin Cooks or a Bills fan, you probably think it is pretty clear that he made a big catch in overtime that was going to put the Bills in a prime position to win a playoff game and advance to the AFC Championship game.

If you are not a Bills fan, you might see it an entirely different way.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow certainly saw it a different way.

The amount of ppl that don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book flabbergasts me. And it’s not the officials. The two plays yesterday were not difficult calls, and they got them both right.
— Joey Burrow (@JoeyB) January 19, 2026

There are not many changes to the rule that are going to fix that disparity in opinions. We know this because the catch rule has undergone several changes and been re-worded several times over the years, and the confusion only seems to grow.

As long as there are close calls that happen in games — and there always will be — fans and teams are going to see it different ways depending on what outcome they want and what their rooting interests are. That is simply the nature of the beast in professional sports. The best thing the NFL can do at this point is simply do a better job of communicating why calls are made, and do so in real-time.

Not after the fact. Not after the game. Not days later. As it happens.

Consistency and communication are the answer here. Not more changes that will only further add confusion.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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