14 games, Nov. 7/10/11, 2024
566 +2/232\\
Week 10: 59 touchdowns, 2 ATDs
TEN@LAC: Into the mystic
Airspace touchdowns, like some song lyrics, are cryptic, enigmatic, ethereal. What is their meaning? Can you define their essence? Is it simply a matter of faith, the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen?”
Do you see a touchdown in this leap of faith by Hassan Haskins as he flings himself into the mystic, that nebulous ether above the end zone? We do not. We see a savvy player exploiting a soft rule and collecting an easy six points by breaking (barely) the Great Invisible Plane, even though the Titans’ defense stuffed him and he never got close to touching the actual, physical end zone.
Wait; listen. You can hear Van Morrison singing as Haskins, for a split second, barely reaches the ball above the goal line: “I wanna rock your gypsy soul/Just like way back in the days of old/Then magnificently we will float into the mystic.” See? Just hypnotize yourself into believing this is a touchdown. We never will, but referees and most fans do. So enigmatic. Hocus Bogus Rating: 5

Video and image: Fox Sports
SF@TB: Over and out
We certainly don’t want to spoil the feel-good story of San Francisco’s Ricky Pearsall, a gunshot survivor, scoring his first touchdown as a pro.
Yet the plain fact, to us at least, is that Pearsall was credited with a touchdown by technicality. He never touched the end zone. He merely flew over it for a moment before he crash-landed wide of the end zone, fully out of bounds.
Tampa Bay safety Antonie Winfield, Jr. (31) catches up to Pearsall and knocks him sideways as he nears the goal line. He lands out of bounds. But because officials rule that he managed to wave the wave above the goal line before he hit the sideline, that’s good enough for six points. Never mind that the end zone was touched. This is the world of close enough is good enough.
We’re happy to see Pearsall in action and hope he makes actual contact with the end zone during his future touchdowns. Rating: 4.5

Video and images: Fox Sports

Footnote: Arm’s length
Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase nearly reminded the football world that a ball carrier with no defenders nearby hsa no obligation to step into the end zone to earn six points. He can just wave the ball over the goal line, never step into the end zone, drop the ball and yet be assured that he has earned six points.
Cleveland’s David Njoku, though a defender was in his vicinity, proved this to be true during Week 18 of the 2022 season. In Chase’s case, you can see the official stradling the goal line to make the call in case Chase elects to simply wave-and-go. In a CYA move, Chase ultimately steps into the end zone. But did he really have to? Not according to the break-the-plane rule. How silly is that?

Video and image: Amazon Prme
College: Over and out, Big Ten edition
Self-catapulting lurches over the scrum of bodies along the line of scrimmage are perhaps the lamest of all airspace touchdowns. The goal is to merely gouge the Great Invisible Plane, not actually reach the end zone. Here Penn State’s Tyler Warren flings himself forward and, as hoped, collects six points despite never making actual contact with the end zone, the game’s designated scoring area.
Once again we are reminded that in football, close enough is good enough.

Video and image: Peacock