Fantasy News
We have a nominee for the Fantasy Play of the Year. DeSean Jackson, with a 61-yard touchdown in his grasp, flipped the ball behind him just before he crossed the goal line.
The play was ruled a touchdown, but the Cowboys challenged the call. Unfortunately for them, none of their players had the sense to pick up the ball when the play was occurring -- it appeared to lie on the field for at least 15 seconds after Jackson dropped it. Had a Dallas defender picked it up, it would have been a repeat of the Cutler-Chargers controversy -- with the ball dead once the official blew the whistle.
This one wound up being no big deal to the Eagles or Cowboys -- Dallas won the game anyway, and Philadelphia got its touchdown on the next play. So the only losers (and winners) will be the thousands of fantasy leaguers who won or lost games because of the touchdowns lost by Jackson and Donovan McNabb or scored by Brian Westbrook.
Ironically, this play occurred at almost the exact same spot that Westbrook lost a touchdown last year in week 15 -- he was on his way into the end zone but downed himself at the 1-yard line so that the Eagles could run out the clock (rather than risk having Dallas score, convert a 2-point conversion, pull off an onsides kick and then tie the game with a field goal).
ESPN managed to dig up the video of Jackson pulling a similar stunt in high school. He tried to do a cartwheel entering the end zone and lost the ball on the one. Chad Johnson once spiked a ball before getting into the end zone in a Fiesta Bowl game against Notre Dame. And when with the Steelers, Plaxico Burress twice got up after completions and spiked the ball -- before being downed.
—Ian Allan
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Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Sep. 16 at 04:22 AM
I had just finished telling my wife, "In the writeup this week, we talked about how with a player on a hot streak like DeSean Jackson, you keep him in your lineup until he gives you a good reason to bench him." Then we watched as the play was reversed, costing him the long TD, and she said, "Is that a good reason?"