In a road matchup against the defending NFC champions, the upstart Minnesota Vikings were surprisingly giving the Philadelphia Eagles all they could handle. But they can’t beat the Eagles and the NFL’s archaic and nonsensical rulebook at the same time.
Late in the second quarter, while down 10-7, the Vikings found themselves mounting a promising two-minute drill drive. Eventually, Kirk Cousins launched a dime to Justin Jefferson downfield, who broke a tackle and made a move for the end zone the way superstar receivers usually do.
Except when Jefferson made his move for the end zone, he lost grip of the ball in his arms, and it went out over the pylon through the back of the end zone. By the NFL’s rule book standards, that is a touchback and automatic turnover to the other team. Welp. Yes, it’s just as silly now as it always is:
BRUTAL break for Justin Jefferson managers 😅
pic.twitter.com/HjAafIvUXB— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) September 15, 2023
After review, Justin Jefferson's 30-yard gain resulted in a touchback instead of 1st-and-goal.
Al Michaels and Terry McAulay discussed the ruling on the Amazon Prime Video broadcast. 📺🏈 #TNF pic.twitter.com/H1nTw3Q6bO
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 15, 2023
From a distanced perspective, it’s reasonable for the NFL to expect players to maintain possession throughout key plays. From a practical sense, why is a fumble through the back of the end zone so harsh? The league shouldn’t be punishing offensive skill players for being aggressive and playing through the whistle.
The penalty does not nearly match the gravity of the play. It shouldn’t be an automatic turnover to fumble through the back of the end zone — especially when it’s on the side. If the Vikings don’t win in Philadelphia, we’ll undoubtedly come back to this Jefferson sequence.
And it’ll be because of a silly rule — the last thing any football fan should want.
This was how Twitter reacted to the NFL's touchback fumble rule costing the Vikings and Justin Jefferson
Come on, we all know this rule is stupid NFL. Just change it. https://t.co/UkvsxohYsg
— Frank Schwab (@YahooSchwab) September 15, 2023
correct call, longstanding, crazy rule https://t.co/1iRA2RoaHh
— Dilan Esper (@dilanesper) September 15, 2023
Terrible rule https://t.co/uwIsPrSwDS
— Bony Scribe ☠️🖤 (@bonyscribe) September 15, 2023
This, taunting, and that rule about forward progress with a fumble not being allowed are the dumbest rules https://t.co/Ngz8QtN0ZD
— ufo pilot (@blakeyblake__) September 15, 2023
Get rid of this rule. Unless there is a clear recovery, spot the ball where the fumble started… problem solved. https://t.co/gC2bAtYKKr
— Two Growls One Roar (@2growls1roar) September 15, 2023
I still don’t understand why fumbling out of the endzone is a turnover. https://t.co/UYaHeSPie9
— Eddie 🇵🇷 (@demorizi_eudy) September 15, 2023
I hate this rule so much. https://t.co/S2DQtKLMOU
— Gary Kester (@garykester) September 15, 2023
Nobody on earth thinks this rule makes any sense. https://t.co/eQox7IXnl0
— Steve Boyle (@Sboyle15) September 15, 2023
Top 2 worst rules in football and its not 2 https://t.co/ayulbzTzmh
— Gmo Kelley (@gmo_kelley) September 15, 2023
