For decades, the NFL has used chains to make first downs and NFL referees to spot the footballs with their eyes and judgment. It’s far from an exact science, but football fans have dealt with it because no better or more precise method has ever been determined – or so we thought.
Following Sunday night’s Wild Card round game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens, the NFL’s Next Gen Stats Twitter account shared an interesting stat about a crucial play in the game, revealing that Ravens quarterback Tanner Huntley was 0.6 yards away from the goal line when he fumbled the ball.
But the league also made a very casual admission that got the attention of the NFL world – there’s a chip in the ball that revealed its exact location on the field.
How close was Tyler Huntley to crossing the plane with the football?
According to the chip in the football, the closest the ball got to the end zone was 0.6 yards from the goal line.#BALvsCIN | #RavensFlock | #RuleTheJungle
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 16, 2023
“How close was Tyler Huntley to crossing the plane with the football? According to the chip in the football, the closest the ball got to the end zone was 0.6 yards from the goal line,” Next Gen Stats said in a tweet.
Naturally, the NFL world wondered why the league continues to use such an archaic method to spot the balls when this technology is already in the footballs.
waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait
We got a chip in the football and we're still using the eye line test to determine first downs and touchdowns? https://t.co/cn0yK6J9aO
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) January 16, 2023
“waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait We got a chip in the football and we’re still using the eye line test to determine first downs and touchdowns?” asked Sam Vecenie of The Athletic.
OHHHHHHH so there's a chip in the football that can tell us how far the ball gets from the end zone down to an accuracy of .1 yards?????? https://t.co/WjPNQ7CGjc
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) January 16, 2023
“OHHHHHHH so there’s a chip in the football that can tell us how far the ball gets from the end zone down to an accuracy of .1 yards??????” Rodger Sherman of The Ringer said in a tweet.
SO THERE IS A CHIP https://t.co/ral7JiT4q1
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) January 16, 2023
“SO THERE IS A CHIP” Mike Golic Jr. said in a tweet.
So we're just not using the chip. Got it. Cool cool cool. https://t.co/rwoyhMW14k
— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) January 16, 2023
“So we’re just not using the chip. Got it. Cool cool cool,” Peter Bukowski said in a tweet.
Maybe one day the league will actually use this chip to help spot the ball on the field. Then again, maybe that would make too much sense.
