CAR@DET: ‘That’s good enough’

As he watches a replay of Adam Thielen poking the plane and getting six points as a result, Fox play-by-play man Chris Myers does not sound fully convinced that what he saw was worthy of such a payout. “Ruled a touchdown,” Myers said with a touch of skepticism in his voice. “Very savvy,” analyst Daryl Johnston said of Thielen’s no-touch reach.

We concede the existing break-the-plane rule makes such a call valid, but seriously, does this pass the eye test for what most football fans would judge to be a touchdown? And what about the solid tackle by Detroit S Tracy Walker (21), which prevents Thielen from entering the designated scoring area, aka the end zone? A touchdown call renders Walker’s strong effort a waste of time. 

The waste, we believe, lies in the existing rule. In a sensible world, this would not be ruled a touchdown.  Hocus Bogus Rating: 5

CAR@DET: Piling up, not plowing in

To earn a touchdown, the rule we advocate would require a ball carrier to make physical contact with the end zone while bringing the ball with him.

Here Detroit QB Jared Goff moves toward the end zone but never advances beyond his blockers. Instead, he finishes the play lying atop his center Frank Ragnow (77) and right guard Graham Glasgow (60). And did the ball ever reach the goal line’s Great Invisible Plane? We’re not entirely sure.

Crowd surfing to the end zone and never contacting the end zone, in our view, is not touchdown-worthy. We are not fans of half-baked touchdowns. No contact, no points. We would rule this a Nix Six. Rating: 3.5

CIN@AZ: A great tackle; a gift TD

A defender’s ultimate job is to keep ball carriers out of the end zone. Here Cincinnati LB Logan Wilson (55) does a stellar job of preventing Arizona’s Emari Demercado from reaching paydirt. But all that effort goes for naught due to the endlessly annoying break-the-plane rule.

Wilson latches onto Demercado at the 5, then wrangles him out of bounds just before he is able to make contact with the goal line. Demercado’s left knee is just inches above the goal line when Wilson successfully wrassles him wide of the end zone. It is a strong, strong move; a terrific defensive play. 

No matter. Because the ball Demercado was carrying was perceived to have broken the plane for 0.0374592 seconds (according to our exclusive Fix the Rule plane-buster clock), As a result, Wilson’s effort was ignored and six points were handed to Demercado. A tough one to accept if you appreciate good defense. Rating: 4

About the Tush Push: Not so unusual

Football is a physical game designed to be won by the stronger, faster, more imaginative team. Philadelphia’s much-discussed Tush Push maneuver is largely a throwback to football’s tough-guy rugby roots, and if your 11 is stronger than their 11, we believe you should come out victorious.

We recognize the tactic can seem primitive, even primordial, but for a few years now the game has permitted linemen to give runners a downfield push to pick up extra yardage. Philly’s brute-force approach during goal-line plays is, to us, an understandable extension of that accepted style of play.

What is not acceptable to us is when the ball carrier, usually QB Jalen Hurts, does not make contact with the end zone at the end of the play. As noted in our earlier account of Jared Goff’s goal-line lean-over, finishing on top of a mosh pit of bodies rather than in the end zone itself should not be rewarded with six points. Either break through and touch the designated scoring area, or line up and try again.

Here, replays are not conclusive as to where Hurts finished the play. In cases where we believe an airspace touchdown occurred but cannot make a no-doubt determination, we confess we don’t know for sure. Rating: Not clear

Footnote: Celebrate mindfully

Yes, we recognize that according to the existing break-the-plane rule, Jacksonville’s Travis Etienne is free to give the football a celebratory flip and face no consequences as he floats above the end zone.

If our rule was in place (no touchdown unless the ball carrier contacts the end zone), he would be likewise free to perform this finger roll, just as long as he first contacted the end zone. This would verify his touchdown involved touching the designated scoring area., which we believe is a fundamental part of football.

For the record: This play and the Hurt goal-line push are not counted in our weekly airspace touchdown total. We included only the first three plays.