The Bert Emanuel Rule
Photograph By Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images
With Tampa Bay driving at the end of the 1999 NFC Championship game, trailing St. Louis 11-6, Bert Emanuel made a 13-yard catch that would have put the Bucs at the Rams' 22 with 47 seconds left. But the call was reversed when the referee ruled the ball hit the ground, although it seemed Emanuel had total control of the ball throughout the process. The NFL would later clarify the rule that it counts as a reception if the ball hits the ground as long as the receiver maintains control. The Rams won 11-6.
