In the first quarter of Monday Night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Panthers Brad Nortman decided to punt the ball directly towards Darren Sproles.
Jon Gruden and the rest of the watching world only had one question.
Why?
"Why you would punt to Darren Sproles in the middle of the field. I have no idea!" – Gruden TOUCHDOWN @EAGLES! pic.twitter.com/trc2EDbJs5
— ESPN Monday Night (@ESPNMondayNight) November 11, 2014
The issue isn’t only that Sproles is an excellent return man. He surely is. It’s that when you combine Sproles amazing speed in the open field with the fact that the Eagles special teams made some sort of pact with the devil this year (Philadelphia has scored 8 special teams and defensive touchdowns this year) that this 65 yard touchdown seems almost inevitable. It’s a wonder that Carolina decided to make the ball returnable at all.
