Green Bay Packers kick returner and WR Ty Montgomery flew under the radar with the most heads up play out of any NFL snap Sunday.
On a late 1st quarter kickoff during the Lions-Packers game yesterday, Montgomery received a lions kick that ended up near the 3-yard line. Instead of waiting for it to roll into the end zone for a touchback or have it be downed by the kicking team, Montgomery purposely stepped out of bounds before diving on top of the ball while his feet remained out of bounds.
Instead of the Packers beginning their drive at the 3-yard line or even the 25 (have there been a touchback), Green Bay was able to advance the ball to the 40-yard line due to a penalty. Not just any penalty though, it’s one that warrants one of the heftiest yardage punishments of any.
That penalty states that via the NFL rulebook, if the ball comes into contact with a player that is out of bounds, the ball is hear-by considered out of bounds. If you think of it like an electric current, Montgomery was the connect that was able to, through him, make the ball technically out of bounds. Here’s the play:
Returner Ty Montgomery Utilizes Obscure NFL Rule to Get Packers Big Yardage pic.twitter.com/wzsxnkFrb4
— SportsCast (@SportsCast_THN) September 25, 2016
here’s the play explained by the NFL’s former head of officiating and now rules analyst Mike Pereira:
Ty Montgomery made a brilliant play on a kickoff.
Here's why pic.twitter.com/jhJo6zGM9K
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) September 25, 2016
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Montgomery played his college ball at one of the smartest universities in the country, Stanford.
