Whether you like it or not, which I don’t think anybody really does, referee Tony Corrente got the call right. The rule is truly asinine, but for once, NFL refs got a call right, as the book states.
Everybody except some Patriots fans got their panties in a twist this past Sunday when Jets tight end Sefarian-Jenkins scored a would-have-been touchdown to bring New York within four midway through the fourth quarter. Both Duron Harmon and Malcolm Butler were on Sefarian-Jenkins and Butler was the one who eventually punched the ball out of his possession before he was able to cross the plane of the end zone. The ball was technically loose, by definition, when he went airborne and was contacted by multiple defenders.
The rule states that you must re-establish possession of the ball before you hit anything out of bounds. Sefarian-Jenkins did not do that. He did not have the ball when he came flying through the corner of the end zone. The rule also states that you must “survive the ground (this is also one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard)”, and Sefarian-Jenkins could not do that, either. He did regain possession of the ball again, but he wasn’t able to get any body parts down in the end zone before going out of bounds.
This wacky rule gives the defense the ball when the offense loses it out of the end zone and thus it’s ruled as a touchback. Patriots players expressed their personal fondness towards the rule, some even saying they “love” it, while Jets players expressed pure hatred for the rule, naturally.
I think the entire rule and situation as a whole was lame. That was such a good game from a neutral perspective and if New York had brought themselves within a few points late in the game, that would’ve made things that much better from a viewing standpoint. These two teams notoriously play close games and I think that streak should have continued.
On the other hand, the rules are the rules and at last, the refs followed them and made the right call. It’s an incredibly pathetic rule, but it’s the rule. The many, many people complaining about the call alone irritate me. It’s the rule you should be complaining about, not the call. The people who are saying “he never lost possession except for when he lost possession for a split second” are wild. Yes, it’s dumb that the ball visibly leaving one’s body for even one millisecond can do so much damage to a play or even an entire game, but you have to respect the rule. These overly-specific rules were enforced solely to keep referees from making games about themselves or at least attempting to decrease those scenarios, so it’s either the same referees screwing your team over time and time again just for shits and giggles or these nitty-gritty rules being properly enforced thanks to replay.
Not to mention, Jets fans saying that this call cost their team the game are so very wrong and simply searching for anything to complain about, let alone in a year when they’re literally supposed to be tanking. Aforementioned, this play came with about 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter when the score was 24-14. This touchdown was nowhere near game-determining, although it would have made things a bit interesting, which never hurt anybody. Plus, anybody saying that the league will do anything to hand things over to the Patriots are mentally unstable, for the record.
I so wish fans were more informed about these specific rules so they can be well-educated for times like these, though. Nothing irritates me more than the majority of fans collectively complaining about the wrong thing and twisting reality. It isn’t really a great look for the league, either. I’m all for these embarrassing NFL refs correctly calling a play, which never happens, so I’m personally cherishing this spotlighted moment while I can before things inevitably go back to shit probably this week.
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