Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger weighed in on the controversial Isaiah Likely non-touchdown catch in Sunday’s Steelers-Ravens game. The call was pivotal in the Steelers defeating the Baltimore Ravens, 27-22.
Big Ben thinks the Steelers caught a massive break. In his opinion, that should have been a touchdown.
“I think it’s a touchdown,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “Here’s why. Three things have to happen. You have to possess the ball, you have to have two feet down, or a knee, a shin, whatever equals to two [feet], and then make a football move. He catches the ball, obviously, he has possession of doing it, there’s no doubt about that. He has two feet down, there’s no doubt about that.
“The third foot would be a football move, or any kind of tuck, any kind of turn up, anything like that would be a football move. Did he make a football move? No, he didn’t make a football move because it’s the end zone, it just feels a little bit different. Because it’s in the end zone, that third football move needs to be considered differently because, when you’re in the end zone, you’re not gonna necessarily make a football move.”
Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. made a heads up play by knocking the ball out of Likely’s hands before he achieved three steps. The officials overturned the initial call on the field that it was a TD.
Three plays later, the Steelers’ defense forced a turnover on downs on their own 8-yard line, ending the late-fourth-quarter threat.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said the definition of a TD catch is “clear as mud.” He said they were able to talk to the league office on Monday. He appreciated their time, but he said it didn’t really clear up why Likely’s catch wasn’t a TD.
“It didn’t clear anything up. It didn’t make it any easier to understand – either one of the two calls,” Harbaugh said. “It’s very hard to understand how they get overturned. But they did. And that’s where it stands.”
The Ravens had several calls not go in their favor in Sunday’s 27-22 loss to the Steelers. Harbaugh also was not thrilled with the explanation on Aaron Rodgers’ catch after his pass got deflected, which prevented a Ravens’ interception.
According to Giana Han of The Baltimore Banner, Harbaugh revealed the league office admitted that Travis Jones’ unecessary roughness penalty on a Steelers field goal attempt was the wrong call, however. Jones made contact with the long snapper, but it was not forcible contact to the head/neck area.
While Roethlisberger believes Likely got robbed from a touchdown, former Ravens tight end and Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe blasted Likely for not hauling in the catch.
“How many times, Likely, are you gonna get the ball punched out? … You don’t get style points for touchdowns,” Sharpe said on the Nightcap podcast. “… Actions without consequences, no lesson can be learned. You would’ve thought the actions...
