The governorate in TJ Hockenson did not swing was correct

Before the Vikings could set up an impressive return of the fourth quarter on Monday night, the stage had to prepare correctly for it.

It almost did not.

A key moment in the middle of the third quarter almost gave the Bears the possession of the ball in the Minnesota 25.

This is what happened. The Vikings Campo Marshal, JJ McCarthy, launched a short pass to the closed wing TJ Hockenson. His knee was low. When he began to get up, the Bears supporter, Noah Sewell, hit the ball before touching Hockenson.

The bears coach Ben Johnson launched a challenge flag. The repetition failure was announced during a commercial break. When the coverage resumes, Joe Buck adequately picked up the Russell Yurk rules analyst for an explanation.

Buck said: “In the repetition, the call is. And Russell Yurk, our rules analyst – Russell, does it matter that Sewell has only entered and simply hit the ball?”

“Correct,” said Yurk. “The blow of the ball is a football play, and that is completely legal. Even if it incidentally contacts the body, that is not a fault.”

But that was not the question. The question was if Sewell hit the ball before hitting the player in contact with hockenson by contact.

Many (including me) thought that if Sewell hit the ball without touching hockenson, it is a loose ball. (Johnson apparently thought that too; otherwise, why challenge something that happened after Hockenson’s knee was clearly low?)

This is what we have learned, through discussions with someone who understands the book of rules better than the vast majority will.

Any contact with the ball bearer or the ball, after the ball bearer knee has hit the floor, does it by contact. The thought was, and it is, to prevent the defender from hitting the ball.

So, basically, once the player’s knee is low, hitting the ball (and only the ball) is no different from touching the player. The play ends without a loose ball.

While it is not as evident as the Titans coach Brian Callahan Without knowing That obtaining an elbow is enough to complete a capture, Johnson apparently did not know this specific nuance of the rule. (He does it now).

If I had known that Sewell only hit the ball without touching Hockenson, Johnson would probably not challenged the play. Which means that I would not have lost the challenge. Which means that he would have had more waiting time during the critical final moments in which the Bears tried to recover the ball with enough time to reach the range for a possible field goal that pushes the game.