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Theory: Rome Odunze Dropped That Touchdown Pass on Purpose, Because He Saw Jalen Carter Get Mugged and Wanted to Do the Right Thing
Published:
Tell me you saw this the other night.
On the touchdown pass that Rome Odunze dropped, Jalen Carter beat his guy with a swim move and ended up on the ground:
Surely this is a penalty, yes?
Carter beats his guy and is basically shoved in the back while trying to get to Case Keenum. The tight end gets a little piece of him before peeling off and running a short route, but your eyeballs are telling you “he was pushed to the ground from behind, how is that not a penalty?“
This wouldn’t be holding, since nothing is being grabbed, but from the NFL rulebook, section 12, article 3, “it is a foul if an offensive blocker” –
“Blocks an opponent (from behind) in the back above the opponent’s waist, or uses his hands or arms to push an opponent from behind in a manner that affects his movement, except in close-line play. This prohibition also applies to a player of the kicking team while the ball is in flight during a scrimmage kick.”
We’d need to ask a rules expert, but this doesn’t feel like “close-line play.” Carter beats his man pretty cleanly and is in pursuit of the quarterback. It’s not like he tried some spin move and the lineman gets his hands on his Carter’s back at the line of scrimmage. This shove is taking place four whole yards behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive lineman clatters into the pass rusher and prevents what would have been a sack.
Funny enough, Rome Odunze dropped the touchdown pass. Maybe it was karma. The Bears got away with one, and their receiver dropped a TD pass. Or, maybe this was an act of solidarity. Maybe Odunze saw the egregious no-call and thought, “I will drop this touchdown pass because it’s the right thing to do.“
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com