Lamar Jackson stumbles over an official who tumbled in the end zone, resulting in a safety due to a penalty.
You’ve probably heard the joke about a team playing 12-on-11 when a referee’s calls consistently go against them. Well, on Monday night, the San Francisco 49ers found themselves in a situation where they seemingly had an extra defender in stripes.
In one of the most peculiar plays of not only this NFL season but perhaps any NFL season, Lamar Jackson intentionally grounded the ball for a safety after tripping over a fallen official in the end zone while attempting a pass. This bizarre incident wasn’t likely met with joy from the Baltimore Ravens.
Umpire Alex Moore, who was typically positioned behind the play, found himself trailing as Jackson dropped back to pass. Jackson faced immediate pressure, continuously moving backward. Despite Moore’s attempts to keep pace, he couldn’t backpedal quickly enough to stay behind Jackson, who was desperately trying to evade the rush at full speed. Moore stumbled backward and ended up directly in Jackson’s path in the end zone. Consequently, Jackson tripped over the umpire and had to hastily release the ball before hitting the ground.
Since the ball didn’t cross the line of scrimmage, it was ruled intentional grounding. Additionally, since the penalty occurred in the end zone, it resulted in a safety. This stroke of misfortune for Baltimore turned out to be a fortunate turn of events for the 49ers.
During the ESPN broadcast, Moore was later shown laughing and smirking in a reaction reminiscent of “Wanna get away?” There wasn’t much else he could have done, and sometimes officials unintentionally become involved in a play. While they typically position themselves to avoid interfering with players, such situations are sometimes unavoidable.
The Ravens’ tough break was compounded when the 49ers regained possession and scored a field goal, taking a 5-0 lead.
Fortunately for the Ravens, the safety turned out to be a minor setback before they rallied, outscoring the 49ers 33-14 over the next three quarters to secure an impressive victory in what was anticipated as one of the NFL season’s marquee matchups.
After the game, Jackson mentioned that Moore apologized to him. However, Jackson emphasized that he would have escaped the situation if not for the unexpected obstacle: “He came back and apologized. He was like ‘My bad,’ but it’s all good. It’s all good, but those two points helped them out a lot. I knew I was going to get away. I knew [Niners defensive end Chase Young] knew I was going to get away too.”
Moore wasn’t a widely recognized official before Monday night, but he garnered plenty of attention during one of the most highly anticipated NFL matchups of the season. While it wasn’t a tackle he intended to make, it ultimately had minimal significance in the outcome of the game.
