The nutty two-point play that forged a fourth-quarter tie in the Week 16 game between the Seahawks and the Rams resulted in a pair of proposed rules changes from the Rams last month.
Those proposals now have been withdrawn.
One focused on the unusual mechanics of the play. A backward pass thrown by Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold was deflected past the line of scrimmage, making it a live ball that could be recovered by Seattle running back Zach Charbonnet for a touchdown. The Rams wanted such situations to be treated like a fumble in certain situations (fourth down, within the final two minutes of each half, during a try), which would have in that specific circumstance wiped out the two points.
The Rams also proposed a 40-second limit for the initiation of replay review, given that 100 seconds passed between the recovery of the loose ball by Charbonnet and the announcement by referee Brad Allen that the play would be reviewed. As PFT reported last month, the league became aware of the possibility that the ruling on the field of an incomplete forward pass should be reviewed after Prime Video rules analyst Terry McAulay called NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson.
The proposals likely would have had a hard time getting to 24 votes, which could be the most obvious explanation for the withdrawal. Either way — and despite the impact of the play on the game and, potentially, the outcome of the season — it’s not something that will happen very often. And the coaching point remains clear: If there’s a loose ball in the playing field, pick it up.
Read the full article here
