NE vs NYJ - Late Hit

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by APG

If I remember the play correctly, the Jets' player contacted the returner after he had crossed the boundary and was clearly going to be OOB.

"Clearly" - there's the difference. Geno Smith was simply running out of bounds. On the NYJ/NE play, the interceptor was heading out of bounds and appeared to be letting up ... then suddenly decided NOT to go out of bounds and picked up a few extra yards. THEN, when he was out of space and just about to be hit, he jumped backwards out of bounds and was hit during that jump.