The NFL made rule changes today, after Washington Football team quarterback, Alex Smith discovered a loophole by accident.
A report from Football Zebras said that officials were re-evaluating their procedures when there is a running clock at the end of the half. The situation was the Pittsburgh Steelers sacking Washington Football Team quarterback, Alex Smith, for a loss of seven yards during the third down in last Monday’s game. Smith then ran the clock by taking the ball off the field with him to save a few seconds for the field-goal team.
This has the opposite effect, however, because umpire Roy Ellison was going to call the ball during the third down. Seeing no-ball, he quickly stopped the clock, giving the Washington kicking team plenty of time to set up for a field goal.
“The Umpire was asking for the ball at the end of the play. He then stopped the clock at the eight-second mark as he tried to get a new ball from the sideline. He should not have done that. WAS caused the delay and should not have benefited from it,” said former NFL official and NBC rules analyst, Terry McAulay, tweeted during the game on Monday.
The Washington Football Team won the game 27 to 17, marking the Steelers first loss of the 2020 season. Although the field goal did play a role in the victory, Smith claims the move was not intentional.
Football Zebra reported a slight tweak in the existing procedures and add 20 seconds to the clock if a similar situation occurs. This adds additional 10 seconds to the existing procedures. Football Zebra added official shall inform teams of the 20-second benchmark and that there will not be an administrative stoppage in this situation.
The Washington Football Team play the San Francisco 49ers play at 4:25 pm eastern time.
The Steelers play the Buffalo Bills today as well at 8:20 pm eastern time.
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