ATL@MIN: Good D, wacky rule

What is the mission of every defense? Keep opposing ball carriers out of the end zone. Atlanta cornerback Dee Alford (20) fulfills that task by closing on Minnesota’s Jordan Addison and knocking him out of bounds before he could step into the end zone.

Sorry; not good enough. Because officials perceived that Addison managed to wave the ball’s shadow over a fragment of the end zone, he deserves six points. But, c’mon, he never touched the end zone. Inconsequential, we’re told. And for some reason, fans everywhere accept that strange rationale.

According to the curious break-the-plane rule, merely gouging its airspace is all that’s needed to be credited for a touchdown. Think about it: For a game rooted in physical play and continual contact, isn’t it odd that a simple wave of the ball at the goal line is considered worthy of six points, football’s biggest payout?

Until the rule is changed, or until defensive coordinators create some sort of impenetrable, Iron Dome-like shield for the end zone, resign yourself to watching no-touch touchdowns over and over. Hocus Bogus Rating: 4.5

NO@NYG: Say what? Says who?

At the end of Tyrone Tracy’s attempt to gash the New Orleans defensive front, no one thinks Tracy scored. Not the offense, not the defense, not the officials, not the announcers and, judging by no audible objections coming from the stands, not even the fans. Everyone figures Tracy was stopped short. It seems pretty obvious. It should be second-and-goal from the 1.

Yet suddenly, someone in the replay booth issues a decree from on high—that was a touchdown. The one television replay shown offered no persuasive evidence that was true. Did Tracy actually break the break? Only the booth’s occupants know (or guessed). One thing seems clear: He never, ever stepped on or beyond the goal line. In our world, it should be second-and-goal. Rating: 4.5

LV@TB: Flopper, pt. 1

It is this site’s belief that to get credit for a touchdown, a ball carrier must actually touch some part of the end zone. It can be with the ball, a toe, a hand, a finger—anything, as long as the ball has reached the goal line, i.e., broken the plane. Yes, the ball in the ball carrier’s possession must break the plane, and the ball carrier must make some contact with the goal line or end zone.

Three times during Week 14, ball carriers did break the plane but just flopped on top of a pile of bodies and made no effort to actually contact the end zone. We say that’s weak and undeserving of six points. You want a touchdown? Then prove you deserve it. Power in and touch the designated scoring area.

We spotted a series of similar flops during Week 8 but chose to ignore them. Not this week. Example one: The Raiders’ Aidan O’Connell goes virtually nowhere and just flops forward atop a heap of his blockers. TV analyst Adam Archuleta concedes it’s all a mystery: “I don’t even know how they found that he was able to cross the plane.” We concur. Rating: 4
 

BUF@LAR: Flopper, pt. 2

Buffalo’s Josh Allen, like O’Connell above, makes almost no forward progress when he hits the line. His green cleats are a half-yard from the goal line when the play is whistled dead, and he has one or two strata of linemen below him when he grinds to a halt.

Not exactly a thrilling play to watch. But the break-the-plane rule tells us this is worth six points. Thank you, rulemakers, for giving us such moments of heart-racing excitement. Rating: 4
 

CAR@PHI: Flopper, pt. 3

One of the kings of flopping is Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, the blunt tip of the spear used during the Eagles’ infamous tush-push goal line play.

On occasion, such as this one, Hurts is more box car than locomotive during the push, letting his supporting cast handle most of the propulsion work. Hurts just tries to protect the ball and, with a lot of help, break on through to the other side.

Here he gets a yard beyond the goal line, but still never makes contact with the end zone. He’s simply crowd-surfing atop a mound of linemen, which in the current environment is considered worthy of six points. We scoff and disagree.

Play-by-play announcer Adam Amin mentioned that Hurts has 54 career rushing touchdowns, and 32 of them (59 percent) are the 1-yard variety. One of them, documented in our Week 8 recap, was about as bogus as no-touch touchdowns get. We don’t mind the tush push; it represents fundamental football—the strongest team wins. Yet some fans dislike the tactic. If that’s you, then get behind our rule change. Don’t accept flopping. If you want a touchdown, then make the effort to actually touch the end zone. Rating: 4