LAC@DEN: You poke it, they score it

Denver QB Teddy Bridgewater goes bowling for a pylon, and he takes it down, with authority. Of course, as we repeatedly point out, pylons are located out of bounds, so hitting one should have no impact on the scoreboard. But, alas, it does. Even the two officials who eventually raise their arms and call this a touchdown appear to have their doubts. But in a league seemingly desperate for touchdowns, close enough is good enough. Hocus Bogus rating: 4.5

ATL@JAX: First in or first out?

,As Fox play-by-play voice Kevin Kugler correctly points out, Atlanta’s Cordarrelle Patterson is “diving for the pylon.” Not the end zone, the pylon.

The break-the-plane rule has indoctrinated fans into thinking that the pylon is part of the end zone, but it’s not. It is adjacent to it in out-of-bounds territory.  Players, naturally, take advantage of whatever the rules give them, and he knows just waving the ball above the goal line, just inside the pylon is enough for six points. It doesn’t matter that his left hand lands out of bounds almost at the same time this is happening. The end zone itself remains untouched. No matter. Player, you walk away with six points. Rating: 4.5

CAR@MIA: Spin cycle for six

Here’s a really nice effort by Miami RB Myles Gaskin to stay aloft and, according to the break-the-plane standard, get credit for a touchdown.

Call us killjoys, but we rule Gaskin down just inside the 1 because, even though he braces himself with his left arm, his left knee touches just before he’s able to plant the ball beyond the goal line. Our rule requires first contact on the goal line or within the end zone to qualify as a touchdown. If our rule was ever enacted, some people would grumble about a no-touchdown call. We sympathize, but the new standard would need to be upheld. Rating: 2

PIT@CIN: Another near miss

Really? We would not call this a touchdown. If we’re sticking to the letter of our new law, no. Joe Burrow’s knee hits the ground a split-second before the ball lands on the goal line.

Too picky? We say no. If our rule was enacted, in time people would come to recognize that when the rule calls for first down contact to occur inside the end zone in order to qualify for six points, people would eventually accept, however grudgingly, that this effort, like Gaskin’s run on play directly above this one, just barely falls short. Rating: 1.5