SF@NYJ: Pylon flyover

Two Jets’ defenders, first free safety Marcus Maye (20), then CB Brian Poole (34), make effective hits to prevent San Francisco TE Jordan Reed from entering the end zone. Yet because Reed is able to clank the left pylon with the ball while he was falling out of bounds, he is awarded a touchdown. 

As we state repeatedly, we find this odd since pylons are positioned out of bounds, yet the rulebook says pylons are part of the end zone. Perplexing but true. We applaud nice efforts by all three players, though only Reed gets the desired result. Hocus Bogus rating: 4

SF@NYJ: Another pylon fly-by

As he also does in Week 3, 49ers’ WR Jerick McKinnon picks up a touchdown without ever touching the end zone.

As McKinnon dashes down the left sideline, he lunges for the pylon, but gets popped in midair by New York’s Bradley McDougald (30) and driven out of bounds. Despite McDougald’s efforts, McKinnon is judged to have broken the end zone’s Great Invisible Plane and is awarded a touchdown despite never contacting the field’s designated scoring area. Rating: 4

ATL@DAL: This time, a pylon tap

Atlanta’s Calvin Ridley cannot seem to keep himself from falling out of bounds after running upfield with Matt Ryan’s pass, so rather than battle to make it into the end zone, he just leans forward and taps the pylon. Falling out of bounds does not matter after making a magic touch of the pylon. Rating: 4

BAL@HOU: The defense pokes a pylon!

Almost always on the losing end of a pylon-assisted touchdown, here a defender enjoys the rare opportunity to have the curious rule work in his favor.

Baltimore LB L.J. Fort snags a fumble in stride and barrels toward the right corner of the end zone. Squeezed to the sideline by pursuing tacklers, Fort elects to take aim at the pylon and connects. Originally ruled no touchdown (apparently because officials were letting the logical side of their brains influence their call), the play was later changed to a score. Rating: 4

LAR@PHI: Corner cutter

The Rams’ Tyler Higbee does not contact the end zone, but because he made a ritualistic wave of the ball into a thin wedge of the end zone’s airspace, he was awarded a touchdown. Not our idea of a good call, but it’s what the existing rule interpretation permits. Rating: 3.5