Pride of Detroit
On Sunday night, the Detroit Lions kicked off their primetime game with an impressive opening drive. A 15-play, 61-yard march down the field bled nearly 10 minutes off the clock, and appeared to end with a trick-play touchdown. David Montgomery took a direct snap and threw a 1-yard touchdown to quarterback Jared Goff. Take a look:
Unfortunately for Detroit, after a lengthy officiating meeting, the Lions were called for an illegal motion on the play, taking the points off the board and forcing Detroit to settle for a field goal.
What rule did the Lions break? And was it the right call? Let’s break down the play, what the rulebook says, what the officiating crew said, and how Lions players reacted after the game.
The NBC broadcast was on top of the call and actually called that it was illegal before the refs threw the flag. Rules analyst—and former NFL official for 20 years—Terry McAulay explained here:
“He (Goff) takes a position behind the center. He’s got to step back and pause for a second and establish as a back before he goes in motion. He didn’t. He stayed in motion. This is illegal. This is an illegal formation.”
McAuley is basically right, but there’s a little more to it.
The NFL rulebook has a better explanation, and it lays it out quite clearly. It’s Rule 7, Section 4, Article 2, Item 3 (section bolded by me):
T-Formation Quarterback. It is legal for a T-Formation Quarterback to go in motion, whether he has placed his hands under center, on his knees, or on the body of the center. However, it is a false start if the action is quick and abrupt. If the player fails to come to a complete stop for at least one full second prior to the ball being snapped, it is illegal motion.
The rule is also listed under Rule 7, Section 4, Article 8:
It is also illegal motion if a T-Formation Quarterback goes in motion and fails to come to a complete stop for at least one full second prior to the snap.
Goff is still moving when the ball is snapped, so that “complete stop” never happens, and it’s illegal motion, as called.
The biggest question here is whether Goff established himself as a T-Formation quarterback or if he was considered just a back in motion who doesn’t have to stop before the snap. The rulebook definition of a T-Formation quarterback is “a player aligned one yard or less behind the snapper.” While you don’t see it on the replay above, the broadcast clearly shows Goff right behind center, even touching center Graham Glasgow before going into motion, although his hands never go under center.
However, this is not the way the Lions interpreted the rule. More on that in a bit.
Referee Craig...
