During Sunday afternoon’s showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills, the referees missed a clear penalty that should have been called on the Bills.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out, Buffalo Bills offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence should have bee called for a penalty for trying to pull running back James Cook into the end zone.
While pushing a player from behind is legal – like the Philadelphia Eagles iconic “tush push” play – Florio points out that the rules explicitly prohibit pulling, with the rule book stating that “no offensive player may pull a runner in any direction at any time.”
That clearly happened in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, but no penalty was called.
“It’s now well known that pushing of a runner is allowed in the NFL. Pulling of the man with the ball, however, is not,” Florio wrote for Pro Football Talk. “That didn’t stop Bills guard O’Cyrus Torrence from trying to pull running back James Cook into the end zone last night in Buffalo.”
“With a little over nine minutes left in the first half with the score tied at seven, quarterback Josh Allen handed the ball to Cook on first and goal from the eight. Near paydirt, Torrence first pushes Cook before swinging around and trying to pull him across the goal line.
“It happened right in front of line judge Greg Bradley. But no flag was thrown.”
A flag should have been thrown on the play and a 10-yard penalty should have been awarded against the Buffalo Bills, making a potential touchdown much more difficult. Instead, the Bills were able to score a touchdown on the very next play thanks to a Josh Allen quarterback run.
The Bills went on to win the game by a final score of 27-25 – a close game where every point and every yard mattered.
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