Oct. 19--In the frustration of Sunday's 37-34 overtime loss to the Lions, the Bears found themselves struggling to answer what should be one of football's easier questions: What is a catch?
The NFL's definition, it seems, only grows more complex and confusing by the week. And so Sunday's biggest head-scratching moment at Ford Field didn't provide much closure on a hot-button issue.
With 53 seconds left in the first half, Bears linebacker Jonathan Anderson made an interception, snaring a ball in the end zone that had been stripped out of the hands of Lions receiver Golden Tate by cornerback Kyle Fuller.
Officials awarded the Bears possession until a replay review flipped the play into a touchdown and a 21-13 Lions lead.
Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, asserted that all of the tricky nuances within the definition of "completing the process of a catch" while going to the ground didn't really apply Sunday when an upright Tate got his hands on Matthew Stafford's 2-yard pass.
Once Tate had the ball inside the end zone and had, in Blandino's judgment, established himself as a runner, the play was over.
"When you watch the play, (as) the ball comes loose, he is taking his third step," Blandino said in a video explanation posted to NFL.com. "The third step is almost on the ground when the ball comes out. He had demonstrated possession and had become a runner."
Still, last week Bears coach John Fox had shown his team a Week 5 touchdown catch by Falcons running back Devonta Freeman that was later ruled incomplete because Freeman, who had two feet down before lunging for the end zone, lost control of the ball when he hit the ground.
So, yes, Bears players remain perplexed.
"Looked like the same kind of play," Matt Forte said. "And they went the other way with the call. So I don't know what (a catch) is anymore."
Added Pernell McPhee: "That's a crazy rule, man. I think we all know that was an interception."
He's back: After missing four games with a hamstring injury, Alshon Jeffery sparked the Bears with eight catches for 147 yards. Consecutive grabs for 25 and 24 yards on the final drive of regulation allowed the Bears to move from their own 20 to the Lions' 31 in 12 seconds, helping set up Robbie Gould's 29-yard game-tying field goal.
Jeffery also had an 11-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter.
"You saw it today, his big-play capability," receiver Eddie Royal said. "For us, it's almost like let him get out there and throw it up to him and see what happens."
Jeffery's afternoon wasn't flawless. He was flagged for holding and offensive pass interference and was the target on Jay Cutler's third-quarter interception, a jump ball in the end zone that Rashean Mathis picked off. Jeffery insisted he lost that toss in the lights.
"My fault," Jeffery said. "It had nothing to do with his throw. I just couldn't see it."
Extra points: The Bears created two takeaways in punt coverage with fumble recoveries by Josh Bellamy and Chris Prosinski. The Bears turned those turnovers into 10 points. ... Gould made four field goals and is 15-for-15 on the season.
