DET@BAL: Short stop

This week’s ATDs register low on our outrage scale, aka the Hocus Bogus Index. But we would rule all of them as undeserving of six points.

Here, from the 1, Detroit running back David Montgomery smacks into a wall of defenders but manages to lean forward just enough so the ball breaks the plane of the goal line. Technically, by rule, this is accepted as a touchdown.

But should it be? Who delivered the superior performance on this play? Was it Montgomery, who briefly leaned into the end zone’s airspace but never physically contacted the end zone (i.e., the designated scoring area)? Or was it Baltimore safety Malaki Starks (24), who stood up Montgomery before he could reach the end zone, and lineman Brent Urban (97), who fought off Sam LaPorta’s block and wrestled Montgomery to the ground short of the goal line?

People will argue that the forward progress of the ball should determine the outcome of a play. We agree — until the goal line is involved. To be awarded six points, the game’s biggest payout, we believe a ball carrier should make some physical contact, however minimal, with the end zone. To be granted a touchdown, a player should hit paydirt, not payspace.  Hocus Bogus Rating: 3.5

DET@BAL: Crossing the line, pt. 1

The break-the-plane rule encourages indifferent, imprecise execution when running to the corner of the end zone. As long as ball carriers tote the ball above the goal line, it doesn’t matter where their feet land, as Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs demonstrates. They can, and often do, go as wide as they want without fear of consequences. 

To ue this seems sloppy, ostensibly making the end zone even wider and forcing defenders to protect an extra-wide space Rating: 2

ATL@CAR: Crossing the line, pt. 2

To avoid a closing defender, Carolina’s Bryce Young uses the advantage the break-the-plane rule offers and runs wide of the end zone, landing out of bounds with his first step after he crosses the goal line. Handy for him, frustrating, and not entirely fair, for the defense. Rating: 2

College: Pylon poke

Airspace touchdowns are plentiful in college football, and here’s an example from the top-25 matchup between Illinois and Indiana, where Indiana’s Omar Cooper hits all pylon, no end zone, and walks away with six points.