NFL will finally acknowledge 'Dez caught it' with approved rule change

It won’t officially be called the Dez Bryant rule.

But let’s not let a small detail get in the way of the truth when the NFL finally approves a clearer definition of a catch by officially approving a new rule change Tuesday.

Per NFL Competition Committee chair Rich McKay, the now infamous Bryant catch that wasn’t in the Dallas Cowboys‘ 26-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers in 2014 NFC Divisional playoffs was the impetus to making many in the league realize that the rule needed to be changed.

“I think Dez Bryant was the start of us realizing maybe something needs to change,” McKay said.

Vice president Stephen Jones had a similar initial response to the news as most Cowboys fans.

“A little too late,” Jones said with a laugh. “In all seriousness, I do think we’re going, in my mind, to a much better place for our fans, for the game in terms of what we’ve worked on in the competition committee. I think at the end of the day, when everyone is able to get their hands around it, I think it’s going to be better for the game.”

Again, Cowboys fans always knew that “Dez caught it.”

What makes matters worse is that it was called a catch on the field and then overturned on replay because Bryant allegedly didn’t control the ball as he went to the ground.

There is no question the call played a huge role in the Cowboys' devastating loss.

And now the NFL is acknowledging that it should have been a catch, all along.

NFL vice president of officiating Al Riveron presented multiple video examples Monday at the NFL owners meeting of what the NFL planned to do in terms of changes to the catch rule.

Riveron noted that Dez had "control" and then took three steps.

That the ball popped up when he went to the ground as he was reaching for the goal line ultimately didn’t matter.

“Well, that’s a given,” Jones said. “We obviously felt like it was a catch. Big plays in big games obviously come to the forefront. That was a big play in a big game that didn’t necessarily sit well with a lot of fans. Maybe in its truest since of the old word we’re not going to use much anymore if ever again, ‘going to the ground’, I understand why the reversal was made but I do think we’re at a much better place now.

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 3:54 PM with the headline "NFL will finally acknowledge 'Dez caught it' with approved rule change."