For the love of logic, put the touch back in touchdown
It’s a contact sport. Yet players can score without contacting the end zone. Why is that?
All of these plays were ruled touchdowns. Yet never did the ball or ball carrier touch the end zone. From 2020 to 2022, fans watched this more than 200 times.
Clockwise from top left: NBC Sports, Fox Sports, CBS Sports. Fox Sports
Airspace touchdowns 1) occur too often (almost 1 in every 4 games), 2) are farcical to watch, and 3) diminish the game we love. Fans deserve better.
Airspace touchdowns (ATDs) are:
Fix the Rule NEWS of the WEEK
Has Trevor Lawrence become the new master of the no-touch touchdown?
For years, Drew Brees was recognized as the king of the unstoppable short-yardage score for his frequent springboard leaps over his offensive line when tight against the goal line.
Research by Pro Football Reference shows that during his nearly two decades with the Saints, he was 13 for 14 on rushing attempts inside the 1, typically by jumping over his linemen, sticking the ball into the end zone’s airspace, and earning a touchdown by technicality — sort of a vertical version of today’s Tush Push.
Lawrence scored twice in big games late in the 2022 season by performing similar jumps. During Week 11, he scored twice in the same game while running wide of the end zone, never touching it, merely waving the ball at the pylon. So clever. And so ugly.
View our Week 11 recap.
Game image: CBS Sports
What if break-the-plane logic was applied to other games?
Hole in one
The ball is clearly breaking the plane of the cup, so it’s in, right? Put me down for an ace.
Home run
Who cares if the ball is in the glove? It broke the fence’s plane on the fielder’s reach.
Bucket
Your three-pointer rimmed out? Relax. It first dipped below the rim, so it’s good.
Cornhole
That bag is obviously breaking the plane of the hole. We’ll take three points.
Ringer
Look, the shoe is clearly breaking the plane of the stake. Three points for me.
Inside Fix the Rule
In brief
What we’re up to, in as few words as we can manage.
Concept
Learn about the Super Bowl touchdown that lit our inquisitive fuse.
New rule
Few rules are perfect, but we say our idea is better than the existing rule.
Pylons
What exactly are these orange foam antennae intended to do?
Ratings
Not all ATDs are equal. The ugliest of them earn The Full McEnroe.