2 weeks Ago By Teddy Ricketson
The Eagles looked like they were rolling in their Week 9 matchup against the lowly Jaguars, but the momentum was reversed in the third quarter. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has already made his presence known in this game. Late in the third quarter, the running back had tallied over 100 yards rushing with two total touchdowns.
He even had a play that broke the internet with how he moved. Saquon Barkley with a backwards hurdle..
.other-worldly. Never seen this in my life!! Wow pic.
twitter.com/Zq6EkoQhSj Unfortunately for Barkley, the luck ran out in a key moment. Here's what happened.
NFL HQ: Live NFL scores | Updated NFL standings | Full NFL schedule Saquon Barkley fumble vs. Jaguars Barkley got a carry and looked like he was on the wrong end of a shoestring tackle by a defender. He stumbled past his offensive line and went to the ground.
When Barkley hit the ground, the ball popped out and was scooped by a defender. It looked like the ground caused the fumble, but there were no whistles. Jaguars turned the Saquon Barkley fumble into a TD.
Is it a fumble because the referees believe it was contact with his lineman that caused Saquon to go down? Even though he was touched by a Jaguars player on his leg before that? pic.twitter.com/CGHhcGKcx8 Jacksonville defender Travon Walker scooped the ball, wove his way through defenders and into the end zone for a touchdown.
Still, no whistles and no flags. The refs said that the initial ruling was a fumble followed by a return touchdown for Jacksonville. The play was reviewed, and then rather quickly confirmed.
Why was the play confirmed? The reasoning for the confirmation was simple. The reviewer deemed that Barkley had tripped on his own lineman's foot, lost his balance, and fell to the ground. Because it was Barkley tripping on his own teammate, his losing the ball would have been a live fumble, which Walker then scooped and scored.
What did CBS referee analysist Gene Steratore say? When you look at the play from behind, there is a diving Jacksonville defender who seems to make contact with Barkley's ankle and change his gait when running. Right after his ankle got touched, he lost his balance on his lineman and then went down. CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore gave his two cents.
The announcers had been talking about how the defender's touch threw off Barkley just enough that he then ran into his own lineman. Steratore said that was how he was interpreting the play, going on to say that the contact from the defender caused Barkley to lose his footing within one stride. He also said that it should have been down by contact and remained the Eagles ball.
Obviously, the game officials did not agree. Our @GeneSteratore gives his analysis on the Saquon Barkley fumble. pic.
twitter.com/Jy5Kos0cIo.
