The Arizona Cardinals have blown three games in a row. They are the first team to be beaten on a last-second field goal ever in the history of the NFL.
In the last game against the winless Tennessee Titans,
Arizona built a 21-6 lead, had a touchdown taken off the board, then the Titans drove and scored on a one-yard TD run. With just under five minutes left in the game, “that play” happened.
Spoiler alert: Tennessee scores a touchdown on this crazy play.
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Let’s break it all down, though, and see if there are details that the officials omitted.
First, set the stage. The Cardinals were up 21-12, but stalled on another drive with a three-and-out, then punted. Tennessee began another good drive, this time from its own 19-yard line.
The Titans completed three straight passes before RB Tony Pollard busted off a 14-yard scamper to their own 46. Several more completed passes gave Tennessee good yardage. It was now third-and-two, at Arizona’s 20-yard line.
Rookie QB Cam Ward is lined up in shotgun. The Cardinals only rushed two, but then LB Akeem Davis-Gaither came towards the pocket on a delayed blitz. DT Zachary Carter, brought up from the practice squad for this game, flushed Ward out to the left-side. DT Calais Campbell made a diving tackle attempt, but just barely missed as Ward went out further into the left flats.
At the 25-yard line, Ward flings it in the direction of backup TE Gunnar Helm, who was hugging the sideline at the 10. LB Mack Wilson is approaching Ward to make the tackle if Ward decides to run. As Ward lets the ball fly instead towards Helm, Wilson jumps up and deflects the pass with his left hand. This makes the ball take a different path and subsequently is flying like a wounded duck going now more so into the field than towards the sideline.
The Cardinals had six defensive backs on the field. Backup safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was guarding Helm. When he saw the errant pass now traveling about three yards in the field of play, Taylor-Demerson came off his man, made a nice leap for the ball, and caught it with two hands on the six-yard line.
As Taylor-Demerson was falling towards the turf, he brought the ball into his left hand. After catching the ball, he took exactly three steps as he was falling, then fell at the five-yard line. He first extended his right forearm, which made contact with the ground. Then he fell onto his back, still holding the ball in his left hand.
The force of the fall, plus his body motion rolling to his left, where the ball was cradled, made the ball pop out. Now he was facing down on the half-body roll, and the ball was completely out. Taylor-Demerson hit the ball with his free right hand, trying to grab it, and the ball traveled backwards as Helm landed on him, while, at the same time, LB Baron Browning came up and tried to make a block on Helm.
While showing the replay on the broadcast, CBS analyst Adam Archuleta stated that, as far as the question of whether Taylor-Demerson had indeed intercepted the ball or if it should be ruled an incomplete pass, Archuleta pointed out the defensive back had made three steps, thus constituting three football moves. It should be noted that all three steps were as Taylor-Demerson was falling down. Does falling count as football moves?
Situation #1: Can the ground cause a fumble?
Helm is now on top of Taylor-Demerson. So is Browning, who had come from the line of scrimmage. The ball squirts back towards the sideline to the seven-yard line.
Nickelback Kei’Trel Clark had trailed Browning, and the loose ball came right to him. Titans WR Calvin Ridley was about two steps behind Clark and the ball, but Clark was all alone with the scooting football.
Defensive players have a fumble drill where they are taught how to jump on a ball and then cradle it to their body, bringing their legs up to protect any player from stealing it. Clark must have been absent that day.
All cornerbacks and receivers want attention. They want to be the heroes every game. That is why when a receiver isn’t getting any catches, they begin to whine about not being part of the game plan. They need to be noticed. So do cornerbacks. Every cornerback is always thinking pick-six and scoop-and-score for 99 yards. It’s in their DNA. And frankly, you want your cornerbacks to be cocky.
Situation #2: Clark did not attempt to jump on the fumble
That is all Clark had to do. Fall on the ball, and the play would have been over. He was on the seven-yard line – his own seven-yard line. Not run seven yards to score, but 93 yards to score a touchdown. There were two Tennessee players right there with Clark. So, why didn’t he just jump on the loose ball? The roll of the ball from Taylor-Demerson’s swat came right to Clark, almost like it was a pass to get the recovery.
The Titans would have lost points because they were already in field goal range. The Cardinals would have gotten the ball, first down at their own seven-yard line.
What Clark did instead was reach down with both hands to scoop up the loose rock. As he approached the ball, which was completely rolling on the ground but doing its wobbles like footballs do, Clark connected the ball with the toe of his left cleat. The ball was then shot forward towards the goal line at the three-yard line.
Situation #3: When is it an illegal kick while on the field?
Clark then ran and jumped on the loose ball at the three-yard line. There were five Cardinals around the ball, and just two Titan players. Helms was on his knees trying to stand, and Ridley was in the vicinity. Arizona had Clark, Browning, CB Will Johnson, S Budda Baker, and Taylor-Demerson all around the ball.
As Clark jumped at the ball, he began to roll onto his right shoulder on his dive, and at the same time, he inadvertently swatted the football with his right hand instead of grabbing it. The momentum of his body roll after making contact sent the ball directly into the end zone.
Situation #4: Does the act of swatting the ball constitute an illegal bat?
Titans’ receiver Tyler Lockett had been trailing the play from the middle, where his route ended, and as the ball entered the end zone, Lockett was now at the goal line. He jumped on the ball as Baker reached as well, then Johnson jumped on Lockett in an attempt to snatch away the loose carom.
The left-side Line Judge was the first referee to get near Lockett and did not signal. The Back Judge came in from the back of the end zone and also began to assess the outcome. As these two were looking over the situation, a third official, the left-side Field Judge, jogged down and came from the sideline and ruled it a touchdown.
Naturally, it went under review, and the results on the field were accepted as a touchdown. The replay officials focused on whether the ball entered the end zone fully and if a Tennessee player made the recovery.
The entire play was reminiscent of a Volkswagen Beetle driving up, the passenger door flings open wildly, and about 25 clowns begin pouring out of the compact car.
