Baltimore Ravens fans have every right to be upset at the NFL for a controversial call that seemingly cost the team a gigantic divisional win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday and at the very least putting it at a massive disadvantage in the AFC playoff race.
Late in the fourth quarter, down by just five points, Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely reeled in a ball thrown by quarterback Lamar Jackson while standing in the middle of the end zone with a defender draped over his back.
Why the Isaiah Likely touchdown was called back
It looked to be an incredible play made for the go-ahead score but instead the officials ruled the pass incomplete as Likely had the ball batted out of his outstretched hands. The official reasoning was cited as Likely not having made "a football move" like landing a third step to complete the process of the catch.
Likely took two steps in the end zone and it’s ruled incomplete ? Lmao ravens are getting robbed pic.twitter.com/YeRNEWhH4m
— John (@iam_johnw) December 7, 2025
Fans online, not just of the Ravens, exploded over the controversial call as confusion reined over the reasoning. Pittsburgh went on to win the game as Baltimore failed to find the end zone on its next few attempts from inside the redzone.
NFL refs are trying to ignore their massive mistake against the Ravens
Typically, in the week after games the league sends out training videos with replays of certain calls to all the clubs. Per ESPN's Kalyn Kahler, the Likely call was not among the videos sent out.
That's pretty fishy yet unsurprising for the league. It's undeniable the call was incorrect and completely altered the flow and outcome of a massive divisional game with playoff implications, even if Mike Tomlin won't admit it. Let's dive into the specifics.
Firstly, Article 1, Section A of the touchdown portion of the NFL rulebook stipulates: "A touchdown is scored, and the ball becomes dead when the ball is on, above, or behind the plane of the opponents’ goal line (extended) and is in possession of a runner who has advanced from the field of play into the end zone." Likely met that criteria as he was in the end zone when he possessed the ball and got two feet down.
Now, if you want to argue that he was airborne and is subject to Section B of the rule, let's look at what that says: "A touchdown is scored, and the ball becomes dead when a ball in possession of an airborne runner is on, above, or behind the plane of the goal line, and some part of the ball passed over or inside the pylon." Likely had possession of the ball, it didn't move, inside the pylon and he still managed to get two feet down.
It's time for the NFL to decide what a catch is, and be consistent
The stipulation of a football move does not apply to Likely as a runner as he is not in the open field of play, he's in the end zone when the catch is made and therefore just needs to toe tap both feet for the play to be dead. He doesn't even need to survive the ground as he wasn't in a falling motion.
If the league was so sure of its explanation, then it would look more in the right and transparent by issuing training guidance with a tape of the play to essentially codify the incident as precedent. The fact that it didn't do so suggests there was some behind-the-scenes doubt about how it was handled.
We'll never know, unfortunately, and more unfortunate for Ravens fans is the fact that their team is now in a significant hole heading into the final three weeks of the season (yes, they had other opportunities to score and squandered them but that's beside the point).
Baltimore has one more duel with Pittsburgh to close out the year - at Acrisure Stadium - and can still control its own destiny if it wins out. That would be a fitting way to get revenge and put this episode behind it entering a tough playoff field in the AFC.