CHOP blocks, helmet-to-helmet hits, horse-collar tackles and hip-drop tackles have all been ruled out of the National Football League over the years.
These kind of plays that “endanger player safety”, as the NFL puts it, have been obvious candidates for banning due to their potential immediate and long-term effects on players.
APNFL players and fans haven’t been impressed with some of the rules brought in over the years[/caption]But the NFL has long been nicknamed the ‘No Fun League’ for banning certain plays and celebrations that make the game exciting and interesting to watch.
Here are five such rules that were banned.
Penalty on Purpose
The Baltimore Ravens used this play TWICE – including in the Super BowlBaltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh used this TWICE to earn two massive wins before it was banned – including in Super Bowl XLVII.
In that win over the San Francisco 49ers, punter Sam Koch danced around the endzone and eventually stepped out of bounds to concede a safety and run out the clock.
While that was happening, his teammates conceded NINE holding penalties to keep the Niners away from forcing a punt – which would give them a chance to score.
Harbaugh repeated the trick in a huge AFC North win over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016, with Koch admitting it went betteer than time than in the Super Bowl.
“We know what we did wrong in the Super Bowl,” he said, “and we kind of learned from it and just made sure that everybody did what they needed to and hold on as long as they could and ended up winning the game.”
Belichick’s clock loophole
Bill Belichick smirking after he run down the clock against the Jets – although the play came back to bite him in the playoffsFormer New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is considered the greatest coach ever by many and moments like this only added to his legend.
Beating the New York Jets 33-0 in 2019, the Patriots took a delay-of-game penalty to give punter Jake Bailey more room to punt.
Jets head coach Adam Gase then on the next play, after running yet more clock the Patriots then did a false start to get another penalty.
Belichick, who could be seen smirking on the sideline, later said: “We were able to run a quite a bit of time off the clock without really having to do anything
“It’s a loophole that’ll be closed and probably should be closed. But right now, it’s open.”
The play came back to bite Belichick in the playoffs when the Tennessee Titans – coached by former Patriot star Mike Vrabel – used the same tactic against him in a New England loss.
Fumblerooski / Holy Roller
The famous ‘Holy Roller’ in 1978The ‘Fumblerooski’ is a trick play where players would place the ball on the ground and another would pick it up and go the opposite direction to where the defense thought they were heading.
It’s been banned since the late 70s in the NFL but was legal in the NCAA until 1992.
One of the most famous example of an intentional forward fumble is the Holy Roller, which the Oakland Raiders used to score a game-winning touchdown against the San Diego Chargers in 1978, while it was also used in two Orange Bowls by the Miami Hurricanes in the 1980s.
A version of the play where the quarterback places the ball behind him is still legal, however.
Jumping over the center
Kam Chancellor blocked multiple field goals before the rule was bannedA blocked field goal is one of the most exciting things that can happen in a game – especially late on when the result is on the line.
It used to be a semi-frequent site, with Seattle Seahawks legends Kam Chancellor managing it on multiple occasions and defensive stalwart Bobby Wagner also getting in on the act.
But the league banned jumping over the center to block field goal attempts illegal in 2017 over concerns for player safety.
There were no known instances of players getting hurt attempting to block a field goal in this manner.
Chancellor was not happy and posted on social media at the time: “No Fun League… How can you entertain if you are governed by people who never broke a bone before? #TheyDontUnderstand.”
Drop-kick kick-off
Justin Tucker’s onside kick drop-kickThe Baltimore Ravens special teams crew are on this list again – this time it’s with Koch’s long-time running mate Justin Tucker.
The place-kicking great only managed this trick once before it was banned by the league office, but it worked well.
During a 2019 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tucker pulled out a drop-kick for an onside kick attempt and although the Ravens didn’t recover, a fair catch was called just before the two-minute warning, meaning the Ravens essentially got an extra timeout.
After the play was banned, Harbaugh revealed he had been in touch with the NFL and they had cleared the play before their U-turn.
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