There's probably no other transgression in football that bothers me more than dropped passes. The game is all about gaining and maintaining possession of the football. You can't score without it. Dropping a pass is simply the result of being careless with the football. That's why I had no problem with Terrell Owens having to wait for his call to Canton. He struggled with the one thing that every receiver has to do. Just catch the damn ball! His highlight film is hilarious. It's filled with bobbles and double catches. The football was his enemy. He goes into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the unfortunate distinction of having the worst hands of the receivers honored there. Cris Carter waited six years and no receiver caught the ball better. That just goes to show that not everyone shares my priorities. I truly believe that if every pass-catcher prioritized possession of the football we wouldn't have any confusion over the catch rule. No matter how it's written or interpreted. Pass catching is often on my mind so I was very interested in the Pro Football Focus list of Dropped Passes for the 2017 NFL season.
| Rank |
Team |
Dropped Passes |
| 1 |
New York Giants |
45 |
| 2 |
Arizona Cardinals |
38 |
| 2 |
Oakland Raiders |
38 |
| 4 |
San Francisco 49ers |
37 |
| 5 |
Denver Broncos |
35 |
| 5 |
Los Angeles Chargers |
35 |
| 7 |
Atlanta Falcons |
34 |
| 8 |
Cleveland Browns |
33 |
| 9 |
Indianapolis Colts |
31 |
| 9 |
Seattle Seahawks |
31 |
| 11 |
Chicago Bears |
30 |
| 11 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
30 |
| 11 |
Miami Dolphins |
30 |
| 11 |
New England Patriots |
30 |
| 11 |
Washington Redskins |
30 |
| 16 |
Buffalo Bills |
29 |
| 16 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
29 |
| 18 |
Dallas Cowboys |
28 |
| 18 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
28 |
| 20 |
Baltimore Ravens |
27 |
| 20 |
Carolina Panthers |
27 |
| 22 |
Detroit Lions |
26 |
| 22 |
Green Bay Packers |
26 |
| 24 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
25 |
| 24 |
Tamp Bay Buccaneers |
25 |
| 26 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
24 |
| 27 |
Houston Texans |
22 |
| 27 |
Los Angeles Rams |
22 |
| 27 |
New York Jets |
22 |
| 30 |
Tennessee Titans |
21 |
| 31 |
Minnesota Vikings |
20 |
| 32 |
New Orleans Saints |
16 |
| | |
A couple thoughts on drops:
It's a surprise to see a team that includes Larry Fitzgerald so high on this list. He can't catch all of the passes for the Cardinals. It also hurt that David Johnson missed nearly all of the season.
The ability of Minnesota Vikings receivers to catch the footballs thrown to them had to be a positive when Kirk Cousins was thinking about a new team. Another suitor, the New York Jets weren't too bad either.
See ball. Catch ball.
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