GB@NE: One foot over the line

Week 9 delivered an almost clean package of scoring plays, and this one we are pointing out measures low on our outrage scale, the Hocus Bogus Index. Yet we would not rule this a touchdown.

Yes, Green Bay’s Jordon Love breaks the plane as he races across the goal line. Yet New England’s pursuing defense has forced him to run wide, and his first foot plant beyond the goal line is out of bounds. The break-the-plane rule makes such scoring shortcuts possible, and that’s a disservice to defenses everywhere.

The Patriots’ D prevented Love from making clean contact with the end zone. To out way of thinking, that means no touchdown for you. (Note: To dive deep into the ugliness the break-the-plane and “goal line extended” rules have generated, check out the clips in our Film Room.) Hocus Bogus Rating: 2.5