PHI@NYJ: Close enough? Good enough

Scoring = excitement. It’s a logical equation the league relies on to keep fans enthused and TV ratings high. High-scoring games = high entertainment value.

Yet in their quest to maintain a frothy atmosphere of nearly constant point production, football’s overloads, we believe, have grown too accommodative of almost-touchdowns — nice tries that fall just short of a higher standard for a well-deserved six points.

Such is the case of this goal line reach by Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts. We believe a touchdown should be awarded only when a ball carrier makes first contact with the end zone and the ball is at or beyond the goal line. Here, as Hurts extends the ball with his left hand, his left hip and ribs hit the field near the 1-yard line while the ball hovers near the goal line.

Beyond that, teammate Olamide Zaccheaus (13) pulls the ball from Hurt’s hand and drags it into the end zone, attempting to present a more obvious score. Not necessary. Hurts is ruled to have broken the plane before he was down.

Such a call seems sketchy to us, but it fits a pattern we have seen through the years of our study of break-the-plane touchdowns: If it’s close enough, it’s good enough. Give fans what they’re hoping for, no matter how iffy it might look, especially on a weekend like this when so few touchdowns are scored — the lowest weekly TD total in the past four seasons. Hocus Bogus Rating: 4

AZ@LAR: No love for some good D

No question — based on the existing break-the-plane rule, the Rams’ Kyren Williams should be granted six points for his goal line reach.

In what we think would be a better world of higher standards, officials would recognize Williams never makes contact with the designated scoring area, i.e., the end zone, while controlling the ball. He waves it in its airspace, but before he makes contact, Arizona LB Josh Woods (10) makes a terrific play and knocks the ball out of his hands.

It rolls out of bounds, which means (by existing rule) the ball belongs to Arizona — which is another curios rule that rally rankles some people.

The break-the-plane rule too often negates outstanding, determined defensive effort. Our revised rule (touchdowns granted only when a ball carrier’s first contact is made with the end zone) would reward good defense while producing higher-quality, no-doubt touchdowns. Rating: 4

Week 6 footnotes:

• 52 touchdowns is the lowest weekly league total scored in the past three-plus seasons. Previous low: 63 touchdowns scored during Week 6 (14-game slate), Week 9 (13 games) and Week 11 (14 games) of the 2022 season.
• In five games, just two touchdowns were scored. In six games, teams combined for only three touchdowns. Nine of the week’s 52 touchdowns were scored in Miami’s 42-21 win over Carolina.
• This is the first week in three-plus seasons that more field goals were kicked (62) than touchdowns scored (52).