No one, including the referees, seems fully up to date with the NFL’s new starting rules this season.
That was abundantly clear during the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 26-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in their preseason game Saturday night in Florida.
Just before halftime, after scoring a touchdown, the Jaguars punted the ball back to the Chiefs. The ball bounced a little in the end zone before returning to play. After dropping it to the ground and stopping, Chiefs returner Mecole Hardman grabbed the ball and brought it back into the end zone to take a knee.
Initially, the play was considered a touchback by the referees – which, based on the old rules, would have been correct. But under the NFL’s initial new rules, which completely transformed the game, that is no longer the case. Then, during a timeout as the referees prepared, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson rushed out to discuss the call.
Turns out he was right. The play was overturned and the Jaguars received the safety. That put them up 20-10 at halftime.
“The ball landed in the end zone and now, by rule, it’s still a live ball,” Pederson said, via ESPN. “Last year it would have gone down, it would have been dead and the ball went out for what, 25 or whatever it was last year. Now the ball is live, so the ball was in the end zone, it went over the half yard line. The returner was in the end zone, but he pulled the ball back into the end zone when he took a knee.
“So security. That’s the rule.”
The NFL is implementing new rules for kickoffs this season, and the game looks totally different. The kicking team still kicks the ball from its own 35-yard line, but players on the kicking team start at the opponent’s 35-yard line and cannot move until the ball hits the ground or a player on the “ landing zone”, which is defined as the area between the goal line and the 20-yard line.
The changes were made in an effort to make the play safer without eliminating it from the game completely, and to try to keep kickoffs relevant. Last season, only about 22% of kickoffs were actually returned – which was the lowest rate in NFL history.
While it’s a big mistake that could cause problems in the future, Chiefs coach Andy Reid wasn’t too bothered by it. After all, it was the first game of the preseason and the first time under the new rules.
“Normally, when the ball goes into the end zone and you touch it there, it’s a dead ball,” he said, via ESPN. “Let’s clean it up and see what they find.”
The Chiefs, who just won their second consecutive Super Bowl, will open their season on September 5th against the Baltimore Ravens. The Jaguars, who missed the playoffs last season after a 9-8 record, will open the year on September 8 against the Miami Dolphins.
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