Penalty helps team win

[voiceoflg]

Here's one I've never heard before. Game tied at 14. A's ball 4th and goal inside the ten with less than ten seconds left and no timeouts, clock running. A breaks the huddle with 12 men to get a penalty to stop the clock. Whistle blown, flag thrown, clock stopped. Now A has time to set up the game winning field goal and it is good. A wins 17-14.

I guess if you are around this game long enough you'll always see something new.

[MJT]

Not a penalty to break the huddle with 12 in NF, but I see where you are going with it. If the "3-5 second" substitution was not done, we'd have a foul in NF also. The R would wind it on the RFP, but they could get their kick team out there and set up to get it done. Interesting. I don't think there is anything we could do about that one.

[Kirby]

This is why the NFL has a 10-second run-off procedure for fouls like these where the clock is running. I don't ever see the FED implementing this procedure, though.

[waltjp]

It could happen as you say but if there's 10 seconds left and you're relying on the officials to throw a flag to stop the clock you're taking a huge chance. The whistle you hear may be to indicate that the clock reads 0.0 time left.

[bossman72]

That kinda reminds me of my HS coach who when he's up late in the game and is trying to run the clock out has one of his lineman jump offsides and makes it look unintentional. they get an extra 30 seconds to burn off the clock because of the "extra" down.



NF has no run off? So if the offense is trying to spike it and they snap it while people are not set with 5 secs left or have some other offensive foul, we just mark off the penalty and they can get their field goal team out there?

[RoyGardner]

This reminds me of an earlier post (pre-season I think) on another board where the suggestion was made at that time by one of the posters responding to let the play go off (with 12) and then (based on the result of the "last play") enforce an illegal participation foul. The logic being it's not in keeping with the intent of the rules to allow a team to foul "intentionally", get a minor penalty enforced, and then get a chance (as was done here) to kick the game winning field goal due to being able to run in the kicking team during the penalty enforcement clock stoppage.

After reading this play situation, I think that it's a more equitable solution than calling a DB-IS foul and giving the fouling team just what they wanted.

While I'm a strong believer in "preventive" officiating (and getting the 5 - not the 15 on this kind of foul), I think I'd "make an exception" this late in the game and let it go, then flag them for the 15.