CAR@LAR: ‘In for the touchdown!’ Really?

Check out this Carolina defense as it goes full bore, swarming Rams’ RB Darrell Henderson, flat-out stuffing him and preventing him from stepping foot in the end zone. It’s an impressive display of lockdown goal-line D by the Panthers. As the screenshot below shows, Henderson has been stood up and turned back.

Yet at one point of his struggle, Henderson manages to lean his upper body forward just enough to convince the refs that he has broken the Great Invisible Plane. Announcer Kevin Kugler exclaims, “In! For the touchdown!” Due to the official ruling we must suppose he was momentarily in the end zone’s airspace, but we can see for certain he never got even a toenail on the goal line. 

So Henderson gets a charity touchdown and the defense is left to wonder what else it can do. Here’s an idea: Hope our proposed rule change gets some serious consideration by league decision-makers. Hocus Bogus rating: 5

JAX@IND: Pylon-skimming; it gets you 6

How far can you be from the end zone and still get credit for a touchdown? The Colts’ Parris Campbell does his best to find out with this radical pylon-poker.

That wide white sideline runway borders the field on all four sides and measures six feet wide. Campbell plants his left hand at perhaps the 3.5-foot mark, maybe four. As this shows, the break-the-plane rule sure makes it convenient to expand the end zone’s dimensions when you need extra space to maneuver due to intrusions from those pesky defenders.

Why do we accept such outcomes, which as this site shows are surprisingly numerous, as sensible? We no longer do. Rating: 5

How it should be: A proper power surge

In the same game Parris Campbell pulled off his long-armed, outside-the-box touchdown (above), his teammate, Deon Jackson, provided us with a reminder of classic, bulldozing short-yardage runs that make football so entertaining to watch. We want more of these, fewer bunny hops over the line. Enjoy.