It's not often you see an NFL punter get flagged for an "Illegal kick of the football," but that's exactly what happened during the second quarter of the Eagles-Giants game.
For the Giants, nothing went right during the first half, and that includes the fact their punter couldn't even kick the ball correctly. With the Giants facing a fourth-and-7 on their own 43, Brian Daboll decided to send the punt team out for what should have been a simple punt, but with the Giants, nothing has been simple against the Eagles.
Instead of getting a punt, the Giants got this:
That video shows Jamie Gillan fumbling the snap, but instead of trying to pick it up and punt it, he decided to just kick the ball after letting it bounce off the ground. Although drop kicks are legal in the NFL if you're attempting a field goal, the officials decided that Gillian's kick was NOT legal.
The Giants punter got flagged for "Illegal kick of the football," which is a 10-yard penalty and that was marked off from the original line of scrimmage, so the Eagles got the ball at New York's 33-yard line. From there, the Eagles immediately made the Giants pay with a 33-yard TD from Jalen Hurt to A.J. Brown on the very next play.
That touchdown gave the Eagles a 21-0 lead.
In a bizarre twist, the Eagles weren't the only ones to score a TD after a punting mishap because the Giants also got one after a Philly mistake. With the Eagles facing a fourth-and-16 from their own 2, they sent out the punt team and the Giants ended up blocking the punt, and that's when things got crazy. The blocked kick was picked up by Eagles punter Arryn Siposs, who gained 13 yards and ALMOST got the first down.
In the end, he fell three yards short and the Giants took over on downs from Philly's 15. The Giants capitalized on the mistake by getting a touchdown three plays later. The downside for the Eagles is that Ross left the game with an injury after the play.
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