For the love of logic, put the touch back in touchdown

It’s a contact sport. Yet players can score without contacting the end zone. Why is that?

News Desk: End zone-free touchdowns of Week 4. See below.

All of these plays were ruled touchdowns. Yet never did the ball or ball carrier touch the end zone. Since 2020, fans have witnessed this more than 350 times.
Clockwise from top left: NBC Sports, Fox Sports, CBS Sports. Fox Sports

Airspace touchdowns 1) occur too often (almost 1 in every 4 games), 2) are farcical to watch, and 3) diminish the game we love. Fans deserve better.

Airspace touchdowns (ATDs) are:

Regular-season TD totals confirmed via Pro Football Reference.

Select (or scroll to) Scoring Offense, then view the AllTD column.

2024              2023              2022             2021             2020

Fix the Rule News: No-touch touchdowns, Week 4

It was a light week in break-the-plane touchdowns during the NFL’s Week 4, which is always good news.

The pair we spotted were an insult to the defense, of course, but when points are a priority, even at the expense of sensible thinking, that’s just how it goes.

The most head-turning airspace touchdown of the weekend occurred in college play. How do people figure these things are worth six points? Check it out; it’s a bonus item in our Week 4 recap.

Video and game image: ESPN

What if break-the-plane logic was applied to other games?

Hole in one

The ball is clearly breaking the plane of the cup, so it’s in. Put me down for an ace.

Home run

Who cares if the ball is in the glove? It broke the fence’s plane on the fly.

Bucket

Your corner three rimmed out? Easy. It dipped below the rim, so it’s good.

Cornhole

That bag is breaking the plane of the hole. We’ll take three points.

Ringer

Look, the shoe is breaking the plane of the stake. Three points for me.

Inside Fix the Rule

In brief

What we’re up to, in as few words as we can manage.

Concept

Learn about the Super Bowl touchdown that lit our inquisitive fuse.

New rule

Few rules are perfect, but we say our idea is better than the existing rule.

Pylons

What exactly are these orange foam antennae intended to do?

Ratings

Not all ATDs are equal. The ugliest of them earn The Full McEnroe.