also per Rule 8 here are the conditions for completing or intercepting a pass: a. secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and b. touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and c. maintains control of the ball after (a) and (b have been fulfilled, until he has the ball long enough to clearly become a runner. A player has the ball long enough to become a runner when, after his second foot is on the ground, he is capable of avoiding or warding off impending contact of an opponent, tucking the ball away, turning up field, or taking additional steps. With the Jesse James play, the pass was completed (paragraphs a. and b.) when James caught the pass and his knee went down, and then he became a runner (paragraph c.) when he tucked the ball away after making the catch (if you notice, he does tuck the ball away for a split second before lunging for the goal line), and then when he turned up field (lunged for the touchdown). There's nothing in the rule about "surviving the ground" or completing the process of a catch or whatever. That's just the NFL, officials, and media commentators making stuff up. Like I said, I have no idea how it got to this point.