This Weekend in NFL Stupid highlights the dumbest moments and decisions in football throughout the season. For Week 1, we start with a problem with the NFL’s review protocol that was exposed Sunday in a big early-season divisional game.
Everything related to the play that cemented Philadelphia’s victory over Washington
Fletchhhhhhhh (Pt. 2)
BG with the forced fumble, Fletcher does the rest. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/a9k4cfc5vF
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 10, 2017
It’s not that referee Brad Allen might have erred in ruling this a fumble rather than a forward pass from Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins — although that’s part of it — but it’s also that Allen was just hired as one of 21 full-time officials. And that Allen — who admitted he was forced to go with his “gut” when making the call live — was victimized by a flawed system.
See, the league encourages officials to make live calls that allow the play to continue, knowing that ensuing reviews can correct obvious errors if need be. The problem is the call on the field stands unless there’s indisputable evidence that it was wrong. Thus, “fumble” had an advantage over “incomplete pass” from the get-go, which is hardly fair.
Here’s what else was stupid from Week 1 in the new NFL season:
The officials in Green Bay unbelievably tossing Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane for a phantom punch
#greenbaypackers Where 's the Punch? Replay of Mystical Magical Phantom Punch only one Ref saw & nobody else !!!https://t.co/ZQOgJu0Gjp …!
— Thomas Paine (@peaceliberty) September 12, 2017
That probably contributed to Seattle losing the game, which is ridiculous. You can’t eject a dude unless you’re 167 percent sure he committed the infraction.
This decision from Eli Manning
https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/NextGivingGar
It’s first down, dude. What exactly do you see there that causes you to justify trying to make that throw?
The Bengals’ decision to let two key starting offensive linemen walk in the offseason
They had a ton of money to spend, but the Bengals instead let Pro Bowl left tackle Andrew Whitworth and steady right guard Kevin Zeitler get away in free agency. That made a decent offensive line bad, which is terrible for quarterback Andy Dalton, who has always struggled under pressure.
Dalton was pressured all day Sunday, and he put together the worst quarterback performance of the week as the Bengals were shut out by the division-rival Ravens.
The Colts’ decision to not bring in a stronger backup quarterback
Trumaine Johnson picks off Scott Tolzien and takes it 30 yards to the house! 10-0 LA. pic.twitter.com/SyDJES7UGQ
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) September 10, 2017
Call it denial, call it arrogance. Either way, we all knew what Scott Tolzien was before he had to step in for the still-recovering Andrew Luck (shoulder), and it was obvious to most of us a long time ago that Luck wasn’t going to be ready at the start of the regular season.
By failing to sign a quarterback who could work as a better insurance policy, the Colts might have ruined their season.
Icing the kicker
It might have “worked” for the Broncos Monday night in their win over the Chargers, but the tactic backfires as often as it pays off and thus continues to be stupid and annoying and cheap. Go away, kicker icing.
