I have never understood how this rule is enforced.
Here is a small excerpt regarding what a player must do to score a TD via a pass.
Article 3
...If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain complete and continuous control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground, whether in the field of play or in the end zone. ...
When I watch games I see that if a runner possesses the ball at the instant the ball crosses the plane of the end zone it is a touchdown. In the case of a pass the player must maintain control throughout the process of contacting the ground....
So......today I observed a runner cross the plane of the end zone in control, but had the ball knocked out of his hands before any part of him, or the ball, made contact with the ground. In other words he was airborne and parallel to the ground when crossing the plane. TD
If a player dives to make a catch in the end zone and possesses the ball exactly as the runner did when crossing the plane he has an additional burden. He must maintain continuous control of the ball through the process of contacting the ground. i.e...complete a football move.
As an improbable example a receiver, in the end zone, could catch a pass during a running leap, complete a forward flip before touching the ground still in control, then hit the ground and have the ball come loose. Incomplete
This just seems like such a disparity that I can't understand why the rules are so different.
Hopefully I've explained the situations clearly enough so that they are understandable.
