What is a catch?

[*ochocincos*]

(01-23-2023, 10:57 AM)Tomkat Wrote: This is not sour grapes, I'm genuinely curious.
Can someone find in the rule book exactly what a catch is?
The only reason I ask is because in a game (last week? - I can't remember exactly) a receiver made a catch along the sideline, got THREE feet (steps) inbounds, then was hit and lost control once he hit the ground.  The rules guy (Gene Steratore?) said that at that point, the ground was no longer a factor, because of the three steps.  There may have been something about a "football move" but I'm not 100% certain.

Anyhow... AT WHAT POINT does the ground (or a defender knocking the ball loose) no longer matter?  Is it 3 steps... 4.... 5?
Are the rules different for sideline vs end zone?

For what it's worth, I can totally understand why the call was overturned - as both of Chase's hands were off the ball at one point.
My question is... at what point should that no longer matter?

From my understanding, the receiver has to have two feet in bounds and maintain control after going to the ground for it to be considered a catch.
Because the ball moved after getting two feet in as Chase was going to ground/coming into contact with ground, it was no longer considered a catch given he was then out of bounds by the time he secured the ball again.