AZ@LV: (Extra) quick release

Memo to everyone who plays football: Never celebrate too early.

Here Arizona CB Byron Murphy scoops up a fumble and returns it 59 yards for an alleged score. Actually, he returned it 58.5 yards and tossed the ball away in celebration before he crossed the goal line. That is a Level 5 Oops!

The score stood — it was the winning touchdown in overtime — but if anyone at the time had gotten a look at the reverse-angle view of the play, not even fans of the break-the-plane rule would have an easy time defending this as a legit score.

Check out the sequence of admittedly fuzzy reverse-angle screenshots below. The ball is out of Murphy’s hand as he strides (in midair) across the goal line. He does not break the plane while possessing the ball, and it’s long gone by the time he contacts the end zone. Crazy; more proof that our rule (runners must contact the end zone for a TD) would help the game. Hocus Bogus rating: 4

NE@PIT: Celebrate wisely

We are not grumpy old killjoys, we promise. We enjoy seeing players celebrate on the field. The game is supposed to be fun. May it always be that way.

Yet if our rule was in force, and we were sitting in the replay booth when  this play occurred, we would have no choice but to rule New England’s Nelson Agholor, following his outstanding catch, failed to contact the end zone with the ball in his possession. Thus this is not a touchdown.

Now, if our rule was in force, we imagine most players would be hip to the new consequences of not making contact with the end zone and avoid moves such as this. Then again, football players are in general an excitable bunch, and giddy moments such as the one Byron Murphy experienced in the example above might cause them to make a misguided move. We’ll be watching. Rating: 1

CHI@GB: Over and out

Chicago QB Justin Fields doesn’t even come close to the end zone on this dive near the pylon, but because he nicked a smidge of its airspace, he gets six points.

In essence, the break-the-plane rule grants Fields an extra-wide end zone, since his left hand is about to land a couple of feet wide of the green scoring area. But he broke the plane, people will argue. Well, if that’s your idea of a quality play, where the runner is not required to physically contact the end zone and can just whoosh his way to six points, then we will have to agree to disagree. Rating: 4