That weird rule, the one that supposedly hadn’t been applied in years, caused serious headaches in the Week 1 game between the Saints and Lions. But here’s the real kicker: a play that looked eerily similar happened in the AFC Championship, and suddenly, that whole “backward pass” rulebook loophole? Totally ghosted from the conversation, even as it cost the Patriots a touchdown.
The Play That Blew Up New England’s Touchdown
You have to rewind to 2:59 remaining in the first half of that AFC Championship game. The Broncos were already up 7-0 and had the ball at their own 33 yard line, facing a tough third down and four. Denver quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who was in shotgun formation, dropped back, clearly trying to set up a screen pass. Patriots linebacker Christian Ellis, relentless as ever, was right there, giving chase.
As Stidham started his throwing motion, Ellis got to him, making contact before the ball ever truly left his hand. Initially, the pass was called a forward throw. But after review, it was ultimately determined to be a backward pass, and New England scooped it up! That should be a touchdown, right? Instead, the officials ruled the play dead upon recovery, wiping that potential Patriots score right off the board. Referee Alex Kemp offered a clipped explanation after the game, saying, “I initia…” Talk about leaving us hanging!
Where Was This “Strange Rule” When It Mattered Most?
The main controversy here, beyond the call itself, is the silence around the rule that crushed the Saints-Lions Week 1 game. That “strange rule,” which apparently hadn’t been applied in years, if ever, had a major impact back then. Yet, when a nearly identical play unfolded in one of the biggest games of the season, that critical “get-out-of-backward-pass-free card” from the rulebook was never even mentioned.
How can a rule have such a huge impact in Week 1, making everyone scratch their heads because nobody knew it existed, only for it to be completely ignored in the conversation around a similar, game-altering play in the AFC Championship? This kind of inconsistency is just brutal. It leaves you wondering what’s real and what’s not in the rulebook from week to week.
So, we’re left with a Patriots touchdown off the board and a massive question mark hanging over the league’s officiating. Is this specific backward pass rule just going to pop up whenever? Or is it gonna disappear into the ether until the next time it randomly decides to flip a game? Fans deserve some clarity here. No one wants to see crucial scores disappear because of a rule that’s only trotted out every few years, if ever, and then not even fully explained when it makes its presence known.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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