On Saturday, the Tennessee Titans ran almost two minutes off the clock without a snap in their Wildcard Round win over the New England Patriots, exploiting a glitch in the rules that calls for a limiting rule.
Lining to punt on 4th down with the game clock running, the Titans took a delay-of-game penalty; the clock restarted when the ball was placed after the 5-yard walk-off. The Titans then false-started; the clock restarted when the ball was placed. The Patriots then jumped offside; the clock restarted when the ball was replaced. Finally, the Titans punted.
When a team commits a foul and the penalty yardage is walked off, the clock proceeds as it would have had there been no infraction–if the clock would have stopped, it restarts on the snap; if the clock would have run, it restarts once the ball is replaced. Inside of 5 minutes remaining in the second half, the clock restarts on the snap. As I expla
Comments
Is conserving time through defensive penalties really a concern? It seems like the combination of free plays, automatic first downs, and the yardage awarded are adequate disincentives. Take the example in your paper. That only worked because the Saints completed a pass that gained a first down. Anything short of that and the Falcons would have been worse off thanks to the penalty. The penalty would have negated a turnover (the ideal outcome for the Falcons) or a sack (the second best outcome, especially with two timeouts and the two minute warning). The penalty would have turned an incomplete pass into a first down five yards farther down the field. Given that it was second down, the Falcons almost certainly would have preferred a pass completion short of the first down with the clock running, bringing up third down and a chance to get the ball back, to an automatic first down with the clock stopped. It seems like the scenarios where the defense can exploit penalties to their benefit to preserve time are extremely limited.
Posted by: jph12 | Jan 8, 2020 1:28:16 PM
Not the same because: 1) holding the ball is not acting contrary to athletic expectations compared with intentionally fouling and 2) the trailing team has a defensive counter to the play.
Posted by: Howard Wasserman | Jan 7, 2020 9:38:50 AM
Okay now do soccer and teams running out the clock doing everything really slowly with 1-0 leads.
Posted by: Hugh down | Jan 7, 2020 9:29:12 AM