Inside: We circle back to weird goal-line drama from the NFC Championship, your thoughts on the Chiefs’ controversial calls and the Jaguars’ coaching hire. Plus, what’s next for the Bills and Commanders.
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How NFL refs can award a score
On Sunday, Steelers legend Troy Polamalu came to mind as Commanders LB Frankie Luvu flew across the line of scrimmage, attempting to snuff a goal-line tush push. But Luvu’s timing was off, and then his second failed attempt (followed by an encroachment penalty on a different Commander) prompted referee Shawn Hochuli to announce he would “award a score if this type of behavior happens again.”
Many — including myself — had questions. First, was Hochuli citing an actual rule? Yes, believe it or not. Found within the unsportsmanlike conduct section of the NFL rulebook, it’s titled “Fouls To Prevent Score”:
For successive or repeated fouls to prevent a score: If the violation is repeated after a warning, the score involved is awarded to the offensive team.
So if Luvu had flubbed his aerial feat one more time, Hochuli might’ve given the TD to the Eagles. Instead, Jalen Hurts finally received a live ball, then handled the scoring himself.
This rule is a rabbit hole, though. How else can referees award points? A couple fascinating answers:
1. For a “palpably unfair act,” a minimally defined term that has never been applied in the NFL. Sunday, several viewers noted its emergence in the 1954 Cotton Bowl, when six points were awarded to Rice after an Alabama player ran on (and back off) the bench to make this touchdown-saving tackle:
2. For “goaltending” a field goal, a rule adopted after Colts WR R.C. Owens blocked a field goal at the crossbar in 1962. Years later, the Chiefs tasked 6-foot-10 tight end Morris Stroud with the same thing. Here’s his failed attempt:
The Commanders didn’t come close to beating the Eagles, but at least they gave all of us a reason to explore the NFL rulebook. Speaking of Washington, let’s quickly review the offseason plans of both conference runners-up:
What’s Next for Bills, Commanders in 2025
Given the undeniable success of Jayden Daniels, where does Washington go from here? Three notes:
Losses: The Commanders have a league-low 34 players under contract for 2025, per Spotrac, with their notable free agents being LB Bobby Wagner, S Jeremy Chinn and TE Zach Ertz.
Assets: Thankfully, they’ve also got the third-most cap space ($87.5 million). Then again, they’ll draft late in most rounds, and three of their seven picks are in the last round.
Need: Improving the offensive line is a priority, but they could also use help at cornerback and with pass rushing.
Going forward, expectations will be much higher for GM Adam Peters and HC Dan Quinn. As the latter noted in his season-ending news conference: The floor has risen.
Shifting to Buffalo, where the ceiling has been capped at the AFC Championship. Yesterday, when asked about Steve Spagnuolo’s game-winning blitz on fourth-and-5, Bills RG O’Cyrus Torrence explained:
“From film, they would blitz from where they weren’t showing it from. They showed it from the right, so we were thinking they were doing it from the left. But they actually brought it from the right this time. You could say it was an error, but they just called the better play than we had on offense.”
If you haven’t read it yet, Zak’s story on that all-out blitz is worth your time.
As the Bills try once more to reach the next level, here’s what to watch for:
Losses: Midseason addition WR Amari Cooper is a free agent with an uncertain future, as is CB Rasul Douglas, while edge Von Miller has no guaranteed money left. Otherwise, 47 of their 53 players are under contract.
Assets: Buffalo has the best draft capital among playoff teams, holding 10 picks in 2025, including two in the second round. Their cap space is a different story ($13 million over).
Needs: A stronger defensive line would help. But really, their biggest hopes might be Andy Reid retiring or someone hiring Spagnuolo out of the AFC.
Before we look at the Chiefs controversy, Dianna has the final word from Jacksonville’s bizarre coaching journey.
What Dianna’s Hearing: Summing up Coen saga
On today’s “Scoop City” podcast, and in light of Liam Coen’s introductory Jacksonville press conference yesterday, co-host Chase Daniel and I took another look at one of the most bizarre coach-hiring processes anyone can remember.
After Coen’s first interview with the Jaguars, he told the Buccaneers he’d return as offensive coordinator, with a raise waiting for him in Tampa.
But then things changed: The Jaguars “respectfully separated” from GM Trent Baalke, and owner Shad Khan communicated to Coen’s camp that he’d let the coach pick his GM and give him Ben Johnson-type money — I’m told Coen is getting in the neighborhood of $10 to $11 million annually for five years.
The Bucs are understandably furious about how this played out. But consider how things can change for coordinators from one cycle to the next. Last year, Bobby Slowik was getting head-coaching interviews. Lou Anarumo was one of the hottest names among candidates. Both of them were fired in January. There’s no guarantee Coen would’ve remained a top candidate if he’d waited a year.
Back to you, Jacob.
Typical Dynasty: Chiefs seem to get calls
The sports news cycle changes quickly, and it’s rare for any story to linger more than 24 hours. But anger over the Chiefs’ history of controversial calls has lasted years, recently fueled by a handful during their 32-29 win over Buffalo.
But is this really new?
It was a similar story for the dynasty that Kansas City supplanted. For one example, the below cartoon appeared in Forbes after New England’s 2018 AFC Championship win over the Jaguars, which included a controversial pass interference penalty, among other flags. This is how the public viewed the Pats for large parts of two decades:
Overall, this is how it goes with juggernauts. They play and win more games than anyone else. People get tired of that, and once enough of us are looking for signs of officials favoring the dynasty, we start to see them in every play. Maybe refs feel drawn to give some calls to veteran stars (like in basketball, for instance), but also, maybe the best teams know how to take advantage of the rules?
Today, Patrick Mahomes is characterized like Tom Brady used to be. “I think he’s a great manipulator,” an opposing coach told Mike Sando, who wrote that Mahomes offers “a master class in leveraging rules designed to protect quarterbacks.”
There was none of that on Sunday, though the Chiefs received a couple major calls that could have gone to Buffalo. In yesterday’s poll, here’s where your fellow readers stood:
- Did Josh Allen gain the first down on that fourth-and-1 sneak? 79.8 percent said yes, the ball touched the line.
- How important were the controversial calls, from Worthy’s catch to Allen’s sneak? Nearly half (45 percent) chose the option “game-changing, I still need time to cool down.”
But 55 percent think (A) other factors played a larger role, (B) the Bills share blame for finding themselves in these positions or (C) it was an evenly called game.
This season, Philadelphia was called for the fourth-most unnecessary roughness penalties. This Super Bowl, they can’t let it come down to (often subjective) calls like that. Remember when they lost this matchup two years ago because of a holding penalty?
Extra Points: ‘I raised the standard’
Former Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt retired with the best field goal percentage in league history. He was the first kicker to go a full season without a miss — 83 for 83. His “Madden” rating was once 99. But no matter: Vanderjagt’s remembered most for an infamous interview and one big playoff miss. Zak Keefer tells the fascinating story.
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(Photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
