It’s now well known that pushing of a runner is allowed in the NFL. Pulling of the man with the ball, however, is not.
That didn’t stop Bills guard O’Cyrus Torrence from trying to pull running back James Cook into the end zone last night in Buffalo.
With a little over nine minutes left in the first half with the scor tied at seven, quarterback Josh Allen handed the ball to Cook on first and goal from the eight. Near paydirt, Torrence first pushes Cook before swinging around and trying to pull him across the goal line.
It happened right in front of line judge Greg Bradley. But no flag was thrown.
The rule is clear. “No offensive player may pull a runner in any direction at any time.” The penalty is ten yards.
And so the Bills should have faced second and goal from the 11, not second and goal from the one.
Making the situation more strange was that the CBS broadcast made no mention of the missed penalty.
“Look at Torrence trying to just wrestle him across,” Jim Nantz said.
Rules analyst Gene Steratore could have chimed in, reminding them that it’s still a foul to pull a runner.
The Bills scored on the next play, taking a 14-7 lead. If the penalty had been called, who knows what would have happened during the rest of the drive.
And it might be something for the league and/or the officials to start calling. In the Wild Card round, tackle Dion Dawkins pulled Cook at the end of a run. No foul was called there, either.
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