NFL will look at the fumble-out-of-end-zone rule
It's the worst rule in football. And perhaps it will be changing.
NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent told reporters on Wednesday that the league will look at the current rules regarding fumbles out of the end zone.
It unreasonably punishes the offense. It unfairly rewards the defense. It happens when a player loses control and the ball goes out of bounds after entering the end zone. If the ball trickles out of bounds just before the goal line, the offense keeps possession at the spot of the fumble. If the ball nicks the pylon, it's a touchback, with the defense getting the ball at the 20.
Chris Simms and I have argued about this for years. He regards the end zone as protected territory. He calls it "North Korea." Lose possession in forbidden land, and there's a price to pay.
The rule harkens back to a time when the rules were even more bizarre. At one point, a forward pass that fell incomplete in the end zone resulted in a touchback for the defense.
Looking at it and changing it are two different things. The league has looked at it in the past. The league hasn't changed it. After all, for every team that it screws, it helps another.
That doesn't make it make sense. It also doesn't result in enhanced scoring. It ends possessions for no good reason.
I've believed it would change only after it happens in a Super Bowl, when millions of casual fans watching the game become perplexed by the counterintuitive rule and a real push to change it emerges. Maybe the NFL will be proactive, for a change.
Until the rule changes, players need to act accordingly, protecting the ball even more zealously near paydirt. Some do, some don't. Some, like quarterback Derek Carr, have reached the ball for the goal line, losing his grip just before breaking the plane and, in turn, turning the ball over to the defense. (Carr did it TWICE.) Earlier this year, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson lost control while preparing to reach the ball for the end zone. The ball crossed the goal line and went out of bounds, turning a potential touchdown into an actual touchback for the Eagles.
Yes, the rule is the same for both teams. That doesn't make a rule a good one. And, again, this rule doesn't result in more points. It results in fewer points.
At a time when the NFL is trying to maximize scoring, this rule becomes an impediment to the broader objective. As a result, it's time to liberate North Korea.
