NFL "The Ball Is Still Live" Moments

[@PrinceRN]

"Did you hear a whistle?" - every coach, every time

[@rh906]

See if American "Football" didn't have these stupid commie turns, people would have their heads in the game more. You have the ball so long as you can keep it.

[@long_strong8843]

1:07 "HIS HAND WAS GOIN FORWARD" lol

[@dentonyoung4314]

Well, technically, he's right. His HAND was indeed moving forward. The issue is that by the time his hand began to move forward, he no longer had the FOOTBALL in it.

[@isiahduran2041]

Fuckin killed me lmao

[@356z]

Seahawks fan 😂

[@VanillaLimeCoke]

Who shouted that???

[@SeenInMirrors]

@@VanillaLimeCoke God, I think.

[@Seahawksman_12]

"HIS HAND WAS MOVING FORWARD" LMFAO

[@matthewlangille5382]

Play till the whistle

[@richb1576]

Tuck rule.

[@awilliams5007]

One game its the tuck rule, then incomplete pass, then fumble, then illeagal man down field. Thats entertainment.

[@logicalblackman8228]

Richard Sherman lol.

[@millisock]

It wasn't Sherm it was Earl Thomas

[@logicalblackman8228]

I love how number 28 for the Rams was immediately aware of the situation and went full speed.

[@michaeld6147]

Didn't matter that there were 40 players on the field

[@logicalblackman8228]

@@michaeld6147 where do you see 40 players on the field?

[@michaeld6147]

@@logicalblackman8228 There were players from both teams coming off the field, and players from both teams coming on to the field.

[@logicalblackman8228]

@@michaeld6147 where does it show that?

[@geraldlogue7620]

And went coast to coast...

[@supermike0822]

Some of my favorite plays... the guys who pick up these live balls and return them show that they are TUNED IN to the game. They know the rules and are aware of what's happening beyond just their assignment. Fun stuff!

[@timothykieper]

Also helps when everyone else is stupid?

[@Miwhe]

also helps when every ref within 50 feet blow the whistle in your face

[@cjmacq-vg8um]

much credit goes to the refs who correctly called these plays and didn't blow the whistle too early.

[@Jivvi]

Credit to the camera operator at 1:50 who kept following the play. But not to whoever decided to cut to a different camera.

[@geraldlogue7620]

And to the players who kept their heads in the game and realized the reason they never heard a whistle was because the ref never blew it...

[@DanielDuhon]

Not to the refs in the first clip, that call was BS

[@cjmacq-vg8um]

@@DanielDuhon .... after rewatching that play i agree. that call was definately bogus. damned refs. they can't get nothing right. oh wait....!

[@aricross3258]

The Plaxico catch was incorrectly called. He spiked the ball forward which would constitute a dead play, clock stoppage, and penalty to back him up not a TD going the other way.

[@philcorrigan5641]

In any sport, always, always play to the whistle

[@44lionsfan]

I tried this in bowling. Family wouldn't talk to me for a week

[@craigkerr2764]

@@44lionsfanabout to say the same thing about baseball

[@roberts3697]

Doesn't work in golf, they kick you off the course.

[@danbsports6760]

On a more serious note, the way the rules are with replay, just take it to the house and let the refs sort it out.

[@logicalblackman8228]

Does that include baseball?

[@commandosolo_193]

I can still hear my coach yelling at me about playing until you hear the whistle

[@jonathanbair523]

20 years later.. Yep I hear there voices saying that...

[@naterksmr]

If I'd walked up to a ref while he was making a call and yelled "HIS HAND WAS MOVING FORWARD!" I think my coach would still be yelling at me to this day...

[@dneary]

Every NFL coach should play this video along with instructions to take possession of any ball in the field of play and let the refs sort out whether it was an incomplete pass or not.

[@Tim.NavVet.EN2]

At worst, you got a good run.... At Best, you (and your blockers) just scored a Touch Down or at least helped your team score a Touch-Down!!!

[@SamBrickell]

The only one of these which is kinda forgivable was the Rams-Saints punt, that ball took such a weird bounce it really looked like it was going out of bounds. (also everything was so blurry in the 90's so the other players probably couldn't see clearly)

[@sonadorazul3074]

Plexico really shot himself in the foot on that play.

[@supermike0822]

🤣

[@moosejaw50]

Well done sir, well done.

[@lacolem1]

Damn, you beat me to it 😂

[@opinionhaver574]

You just won the internet.

[@stevez7530]

Unlike Stevie Wonder, I saw what you did there

[@colmecolwag]

Seeing Ray Lewis be among those just sitting around watching the ball just kinda lay there doing nothing is a good reminder that even the all time greats arent perfect

[@__Andrew]

He did that a few times. There is a hard sack he made that makes a lot of highlight reels as well and he is getting up flexing the hit while the ball was fumbled and live behind him.

[@HHopebringer]

​@@__Andrew Wasn't that the intro clip for Madden 2005?

[@powwowken2760]

1:22 There's always something incredibly wholesome about a bigman getting to score a TD.

[@Rogue_Night21]

Yes! you can see in the video, he was so happy!

[@KATONKA...]

To all those that are saying well his hand/arm was moving forward yeah well it's moving forward without the ball in control

[@Paulafan5]

The QB has to have control of the ball moving his arm forward when the ball is dislodged. Rodgers knew right away that the first play was a fumble. Why else would he be right where his teammate picked it up.

[@KATONKA...]

​@@Paulafan5exactly if he would have had control of the ball when his arm was going forward it would have been rolled incomplete pass

[@ThePsho]

I think most of those comments are just quoting the player on the hot mic at 1:06

[@bradrace3923]

I hate “his hand was moving forward” argument. It doesn’t matter if his hand is moving forward if he has already lost control of the ball, which is the definition of a fumble.

[@robertojunior7716]

Tell that to an og Patriots fan. They might have a thing or two to say about the "tuck rule"😂

[@naterksmr]

Bro, if I'd yelled that at a ref, my coach would have benched me for the next few games.

[@forman208]

What's crazy is most of the teams that were the beneficiary of a free play, even touchdown, ended up losing anyway lol

[@Tytoalba777]

I just love seeing the moment of realization on these guys.

[@HolyShnikeez_1975]

Plaxico was 100% still in the college rules mindset when he spiked that football

[@PlasmaCoolantLeak]

1:53 One hell of an example of situational awareness.

[@sturmovik1274]

I think I remember the Plaxico Burress one. I was watching my Vikings and it was shown as a gamebreak.

[@nathanvanek6479]

I love when the thumbnail is the opening clip. Then that way I don’t have to wait for it! Yay!

[@Sapphire-Neon]

I don't know if anyone else remembers, but there was one Seahawks game where something similar happened - I think it was ruled to be a fumble after a challenge or something. But what made it weird was that nobody picked the ball up at all. The official was the first one to touch it, and he spotted the ball for the next down. I don't remember what else exactly happened but I know it was a confusing mess.

[@KDTDAWG]

Ya kids, that’s what television used to look like.

[@abeartheycallFozzy]

Try hockey on a black and white TV in the 70s.

[@randomgrinn]

NO IT DIDN'T!! I have VHS I filmed myself in the 1980's on a cheap camera and it looks better than that. I don't understand why the pros have film that looks worse than mine.

[@AkodoGarou]

Not how that works, its the quality of the media and it being hilarious degraded, and not transferred to a better format when available. Dont get me wrong, watching in 480 was bad, but it wasn't unbearable mess.

[@NoumenalSoup]

It did not whatsoever look like that.

[@D1SneakyLink]

Dude mentioned Aaron Rodgers off rip with this grainy ass film and I thought the same

[@chrischanmingle]

Thumbs up for making the thumbnail picture the first clip.

[@naterksmr]

"His hand was moving forward!" 🤣 If I'd walked up to a ref while he was making a call and yelled that, I'd have been sitting on the bench for at least the next few games.

[@rieldebonk1044]

???

[@uTubeNoITube]

Joey Harrington ... my god those were dark days for my Lions. Looks like a much brighter future now though! Fingers crossed...

[@JD-zd8tm]

The "Tuck Rule" made some of these plays ridiculous

[@andrewgrove1691]

A real tuck rule unlike brady

[@chessmaster1115]

Question at 2:36 it looks like the steeler WR knee hits ground so thought he was down by contact and they saying when he spiked it it was fumble? Was there a rule change or on this or am i seeing the play wrong here?!

[@kicorse]

In the NFL (as opposed to college), a player who goes to ground on his own - and isn't intentionally giving himself up - is not down by contact unless he is touched by an opposing player. He presumably thought he had been touched, but he was wrong and the play was still live.

[@HeyUncleJack]

2:09 can someone explain the punt return? How was that not a touchback?

[@AaronManzo1]

At the time in that clip a player had to physically knee the ball to get a whistle. The players on both teams thought the ball had hit the back of the end zone, but it didn't and that one Ram noticed. Nowadays we cut corners and refs just blow the play dead when the ball hits the end zone

[@HeyUncleJack]

@@AaronManzo1 #todayILearned

[@barrymac1951]

2:16….why was this rule ever changed?

[@sijdnsd6460]

The Saints at the time were very mad about this play because people were coming off and on the field. Essentially, it was a wild card play. The next offseason, the league got rid of it.

[@aralornwolf3140]

@@sijdnsd6460, Basically, they didn't like that no one knew the play was live... so they the league got rid of the play. *Shakes Head*

[@Corn_Pop_Da_Bad_Dude]

So now its a automatic touchback??

[@tylerm6453]

@@sijdnsd6460that’s their fault for lacking awareness. I’m starting to feel way less bad over the bounty gate punishment

[@RandyRaz1]

Saints always have the greatest highlights !! 😢

[@jonathanbair523]

I my school days... I went to a few schools from 7-12 grade.. All my coach's always said "play till you hear the whistle....."

[@mritty115]

As someone who's never played sports before, here's a dumb question: Can the players actually hear the ref's whistle on the field, in those massive stadiums packed with noise? Because if they *can* hear it each time, I cannot understand why they're not playing until the whistle. If they cannot always hear it, I could understand them assuming the play was dead based on how most similar plays look, and just that they couldn't hear the whistle as per usual.

[@PaulisMediocre]

I was a ref for local football with no crowd, and sometimes they didn't hear a whistle (or not). I think it's just brain fades, although I'm sure in a stadium it could be harder at times

[@maninredhelm]

I only played in high school, but when you have your head inside a plastic shell getting bashed around, some wind whistling by your earholes, and a ref who thinks he'll use the whistle up if he toots it more than a microsecond, you can definitely miss it. Never had much of a crowd at my games, but I'm sure crowd noise contributes too. In my opinion every whistle to end a play should be held a full 2 seconds.

[@xlerb2286]

I like little moments of confusion like that. It lets you know the players are still human.

[@beakt]

On that first one it's really unbelievable No. 50 on the Bears doesn't just pick it up and run just in case, especially when he didn't hear a whistle. He could have run a long time since all the Packers were just standing around too.

[@IETass]

Unbelievable fan rage at home with each one of these

[@HardcorePuckhead]

Play 'till you hear a whistle. Every coach tells their players this all the time. How quickly they forget LOL

[@johnavery3941]

As a football ref soccer to you across the pond and a cricket umpire all be it at an amateur level the first thing I would do if I was a Manager of any sports team is make all my players take and pass the Ref;s exam, the players may or may not have done so so but they knew the rules....and as a Ref we appreciate it

[@JokerxDragon]

My heart, pierced when he said Plaxico Burress and that old ass looking footage..damn that was like 2 days ago not that long ago 😅

[@StraightBleach]

Bruh, the fact that we thought that was HD quality back then is wild.

[@johnjones3813]

1:43 is so great

[@sebastianbenner977]

Why was that not a touchdown as soon the player entered the end zone?

[@BOFH_]

@@sebastianbenner977 I think it had to do with both teams' entire benches thinking the play was over, so they started walking onto the field to switch to the correct offense/defense squads. The result would be a penalty for both teams for having too many people on the field. The Rams could decline the penalty against the Saints to try and get their points, but the Saints would refuse to decline the penalty against the Rams, so it would be a net negative for the Rams as a result.

[@Stuff_And_Things]

Not a fan of the sport but I do love this kind of thing. ;)

[@steveswoodworking2504]

I really don't like football at all, but yes, I like this kind of thing also.

[@Keru-5829]

1:46 literally the real life definition of pulling an uno reverse card LMFAO

[@VanillaLimeCoke]

ROFL @ 1:52 At how the Rams player starts taking off for his FREE TOUCHDOWN, the commentators are just talking about how the game is going not realizing that the play is still alive. 1:06 was great too. I want to know who said that. That’s probably the only time any NFL player ever shouted so crisp and clearly into a referee’s microphone so the WHOLE ENTIRE STADIUM 🏟️ could hear it. The one coming in 2nd is from a Bengals and Rams game where an NFL player cursed into the referee’s microphone

[@gscurd75]

This was drilled into my head in Jr High. If you don't hear a whistle, keep playing.

[@BillyCobbOfficial]

1:26 I don’t think that would fly today

[@itztimg]

I mean, not sure what the officials could call. Maybe unnecessary roughness? Wouldn't be helmet to helmet contact

[@TheAndyk123]

It would be perfectly legal today. The rules specifically allow the defender to have incidental contact to the QB's helmet with your hand, forearm, or shoulder if you're making a legitimate attempt at a sack or batting the football. It's only a penalty if you hit the QB's helmet after he's already thrown the ball or if you hit him helmet-to-helmet.

[@Living_Speedster]

If u don't hear a whistle, keep playing

[@ridemywheelie]

A couple years after the the famous Packer/Bear game, the Bears were in a game where it looked like a forward pass and everyone quit playing. After a second or two went by, the official blew the whistle just as the Bear was picking up the ball. They said that there is a special rule that the play is blown dead when both teams quit on the play, thinking it's over. That rule should have applied to these other games. In the playoff game, the Packers had also given up on the play. The only reason the one Packer decided to pick up the ball and run was because it was closer to the Packer bench and the coaches were yelling at him. He too had given up on the play before that. This rule exists to protect players. Imagine if a huge hit comes in and the other players think the play is dead, players will get hurt. And flags will be thrown for unnecessary roughness. Also "forward fumbles" are forbidden under 2 minutes left in the game. The forward fumble play would not stand at the end of the game.

[@InstinctVSM]

The refs deserve a lot of credit for these

[@JimeLello]

That was literally the only thing Boykins did as a Packer but I will always remember him

[@tylerm6453]

Clay Matthews did the same thing against the Giants - and he both forced and recovered the fumble

[@LiljamezZz]

1:18 he was aware it just was a pre celebration 😂

[@ARandomInternetUser08]

2:23 idk if that even was the right call. It looked like he was down.

[@chickenpho3nix614]

Yeah but since he wasn’t touched by a jags player, he’s not considered down and the play is still live

[@ARandomInternetUser08]

@@chickenpho3nix614 it looked like he was touched before the ball flew.

[@CW11721]

I remember watching that first clip live. Good times.

[@OREvilleRed]

These clips from the 90s look like the were downscaled with a crayon

[@johnleriger8730]

Brady would have had every single one of these called a dead ball

[@Rockhound6165]

That punt doesn't happen today. The moment the ball touches the ground in the endzone it's dead.

[@TexansFan218]

Ya. I wish they hadn’t changed that

[@Michael-sb8jf]

@@TexansFan218 when did they change this rule

[@Joe_Okey]

@@Michael-sb8jf It was in 2004. It was this play that caused the rule change.

[@EmberTheFlareon3579]

My question is, how did they not call it a TD? Dude was well in the endzone.

[@selonianth]

​@EmberTheFlareon3579 ??? The guy who picked it up was in his own end zone and the other team couldn't take possession unless someone on the receiving team touched the ball first. It *was* a touchdown when he reached the other endzone.

[@ronvanderkellen]

KUDOS to the players who had their heads in the game! About 95% of players are more concerned with celebrating instead of focusing on what's really going on. If I were coaching and one of my players showed off for no other reason than to draw attention to himself, I'd send him to the shower.

[@truthiscensored]

Even in Pop Warner/Little League football they teach "Play until you hear the whistle"

[@CybeastID]

Imagine if instead of running he just casually meandered his way towards the endzone. How long do you think it would take the defense to cotton on? 1 minute? 2 minutes?

[@pikkdogs]

Ray Lewis looking the other way like there’s a murder going on.

[@bcubed72]

2:25 Plexico Burress did this TWICE in his rookie career. (The second time, they ruled he had "given himself up" and ruled the ball down.) Goes a long way to explaining how he managed to shoot himself in the thigh with his own gun.

[@CinemaDemocratica]

1:45 " Illegal substitution on the return team. Nine-hundred and fifty four players on the field, half of whom aren't even in uniform. Five yard penalty. Re-kick."

[@aralornwolf3140]

Both teams were illegally substituting players...

[@CinemaDemocratica]

@@aralornwolf3140 Indeed! And I don't know why but it cheeses me off that the whole thing didn't get called back.

[@TheAndyk123]

It should have been offsetting penalties and redo the down. I'm guessing the officials didn't want to call back such a cool play.

[@chessmaster1115]

As fun as football is i have to admit for watching it for so many decades there are still some instances where i am not sure what the rules are for some of those funny situations that happen ! I remember wondering what happens on blocked kick if it still live or dead on extra points and field goals and whether it was hitting ground or caught if it were live or dead!

[@nw4042]

This is the opposite of the Titans-Lions Thanksgiving not-whistled-down-when-he's-down moment.

[@VanillaCuckoo]

I don't understand how a pro player can stand right next to a ball that's rolling to stop on the ground and just ignore it. If you don't hear a whistle, pick it up, of course. But even if you think you've heard a whistle, pick it up anyway just to make sure - you're right there! That's what I would do. I'm not talking about if the ball is 15 yards away and you have to hustle past a bunch of guys, I understand doing that after every play just to be sure would be impractical. I mean if the ball is right next to you anyway, like in some of these clips, you might as well just bend over and pick the thing up. What's the worst that could happen?

[@thebreakfastmegapowers]

If you don't hear the whistle, KEEP PLAYING

[@johnmartins94]

One of the BASIC fundamentals of football … you play the ball to the whistle! No whistle? Play’s not over, secure the ball!

[@Ian-R-Wilz]

And they changed the rule after that Rams kick return TD.

[@brandonlkhagva]

Watching these old clips, i feel bad for my younger self, quality of the video he had to endure 🤣

[@joshuahahn6799]

“He did what!?” Antonio Freeman catch when everyone thought the ball was dead.

[@GuiltyGaming]

“Pick up the damn ball, CJ!”

[@JustPierreMusic]

Play until the whistle is blown 🤌🏾

[@RedRaiderLobo20]

Joey Harrington took a SHOT on that play at the end 😳

[@cronsmans]

Play till you here the whistle that's first day stuff.

[@ScottKorin]

1:52 during the punt, that ball hit the white painted area at the back of the endzone. That's not out of bounds?

[@EmberTheFlareon3579]

I think it has to be more than halfway across the line for that to count. I could be wrong though.

[@lacolem1]

Best pass Joey Harrington ever made

[@11C1P]

The tuck rule is only for tom brady.

[@PADon69]

That’s why in practice, the coach teaches you to play until you hear the whistle.

[@spencertwoeightyz3383]

i kinda feel like if my job paid me millions of dollars per year, i would be willing to skip a "shoulders and arms" day every now and again to brush up on the rules of the game i was playing.

[@NicsHODLN]

I was always told to never stop playing until you hear a whistle for this very reason

[@GurahkWeavile]

Lesson learned: don't stop playing until they blow the whistle!

[@tylerm6453]

The first time I saw this happen was the Giants - Packers wildcard game in 2017. Clay Matthews sacked Eli Manning as he threw the ball. Everyone stood around the ball awkwardly thinking it was incomplete until Matthews (again), ran to the ball to recover it as a fumble

[@albundy6008]

2:50, Burress was more concerned with clowning than winning.

[@RoundShades]

2:47 if he didn't spike the ball and just broke out into a run for his endzone, would they have given him it? Pfft, unlikely. Little jank ijs

[@NurvsyVR]

They would of because he was still live

[@jbohnoff]

As a football player, anytime a ball's on the ground after a play and the ref hasn't the touched it, YOU GRAB THE DAMN 🏈!!!

[@mskolnik2]

That last one was very clearly an incomplete pass, dumped to get rid of it. The Ravens had every right to be angry

[@db399]

Multiple plays in here (the Ravens-Steelers one and the Ravens-Lions one at the end) that would have had a flag for the hit on the QB if it happened today.

[@MobileGuy-hg3yh]

3 and a half minutes of people who understood the assignment.

[@meganjoelyn2207]

For the love of God people! If you don't hear a whistle...HOLD ONTO THE BALL!!!!!!

[@ComradeNerd]

That Rams one was just 🤌

[@washingtongeorge8687]

I remember watching that Bears game and screaming at the Bears players to jump on that ball. I was so pissed off....

[@BigGuy_Trades]

Does anyone know the outcome of the play at 2:21? He was clearly down.

[@翁子川]

You need to be touched after you go down to end the play

[@NurvsyVR]

He wasnt touched so he wasnt downed

[@sprockkets]

1:44 I actually remembered that when it happened, just another embarrassing thing the saints did lol

[@jacksonstone9290]

Imagine being Julius Peppers and making a great play forcing a fumble only to have your teammates completely shit the bed and let the team you just forced a fumble on score the easiest TD of their life.

[@ChrisPierreBacon]

Ah the best play of Joey Harrington's career.

[@mikepalmer1971]

Often wonder how some people are considered professional.

[@Xelltrix]

I did this in my Pee Wee League. In my defense, the ref DID blow the whistle but they were wrong. I recovered a ball as the QB was tackled (it flew out of his hands into mine but the refs didn’t notice). I stopped running and ran off to hand the ball to the ref while my parents and the coach on the sideline were jumping up and down and screaming at me to run lol.

[@MrDlt123]

When I was a kid, the coach would chew our arse out if we stopped before the whistle blew. Guess some of these guys forgot that lesson. 😅

[@johnmiller7682]

Literally the number one rule in football, play until you hear the whistle.

[@jasonstevens3071]

Play until you hear the whistle.

[@LostinmyAmazingness]

Ain’t over til it’s over.