Trailing 9-3 to the Green Bay Packers in the final seconds of the first half, the Detroit Lions lined up for a 48-yard field goal. It seemed like a normal play. This time, though, it was anything but, thanks largely to Green Bay’s Rasul Douglas.
Before the Lions could snap the ball, the Packers called time out, in an attempt to ice kicker Michael Badgley. Seeing this, Douglas walked through the neutral zone and tried to grab the ball, seemingly hoping to stop Badgley from getting a practice kick. It worked. The ball was snapped but went nowhere near Detroit’s kicker. Douglas, however, did start a melee. In the ensuing shoving match, was flagged for a personal foul.
Rasul Douglas with a late entry in the dumbest penalty of the season contest. pic.twitter.com/5dHhdlfycH
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) January 9, 2023
While the touching of the ball wasn’t the penalty, it did directly lead to it. Broadcasting the game, Cris Collinsworth wasn’t sure of what he saw.
“Every week I say ‘I have never seen that before’ and I get to do it again,” Collinsworth said. “I have never seen that before. I have no idea what happened right there.”
"Every week I say 'I have never seen that before' and I get to do it again. I have never seen that before. I have no idea what happened right there." https://t.co/AQm7IB0zcF
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 9, 2023
Collinsworth was not the only person left scratching his head.
“WTF…” said Tim Montemayor, host of The Monty Show.
Boston Connor of the Pat McAfee show was similarly perplexed, saying “What the hell just happened with Rasul Douglas?”
Packers reporter Daire Carragher tweeted “Rasul Douglas” along with a meme, “The only way you forget the mistakes you made in the past is to make even bigger and graver ones in the present.”
One fan had another theory, saying “Rasul Douglas must’ve had his controller disconnected 🤣🤣”
— YouTube: The Monty Show (@TheMontyShow) January 9, 2023
What the hell just happened with Rasul Douglas?
— Football (@BostonConnr) January 9, 2023
Rasul Douglas: pic.twitter.com/gXeTrIOd8W
— Daire Carragher (@DaireCarragher) January 9, 2023
Rasul Douglas must’ve had his controller disconnected 🤣🤣 https://t.co/blQk1GcWqs
— Kellen (@Krush59) January 9, 2023
Badgley made the ensuing 33-yard field goal, cutting the deficit halftime deficit to three. Of course, we don’t know what would have happened on the 48-yard field goal attempt. But on a cold night at Lambeau Field, we can assume that he was happy to have the extra 15 yards.
[Photo Credit: NBC]
