An explanation on that really weird penalty at the end of the Lions vs Bengals game

When it happened, you were probably already getting ready to switch over to the Detroit Tigers ALDS game, but if you missed it, there was a really weird penalty on the Bengals that looked like a really long yard penalty.

The Bengals were forced to punt after the Lions forced a safety on them, and they tried to do some sort of onside punt, where they kicked it short in an effort to try to run and get someone to muff a catch. St. Brown caught it on the Bengals' 46-yard line, and then a penalty was called, and the Lions got moved to the Bengals' 20-yard line. What the heck was that?

Officials explain the weird penalty from Bengals vs Lions game

The guys at Football Zebras explained the whole thing in their live blog. Here's what happened:

"Following a safety, the Bengals opted to kick an onside kick. The safety kick may be punted. (Under the new kickoff rules last year, it is also allowed to be placed on a tee.) The kick was high, which gave the Lions the opportunity to call for a fair catch, and as long as it is caught, the Bengals do not have a shot at the ball.

There was an unsportsmanlike conduct foul that was announced, but not picked up by TV. The current onside kick rules state that the ball may not go beyond the 15-yard setup zone. That setup zone starts at the receiving team's restraining line, 10 yards from the kick. So by the kick being caught 26 yards downfield, it is a penalty which is assessed from the spot of the kick. This wound up being a half-distance enforcement from the 20 to the 10."

So there you go, it's pretty simple when you look at it this way. The onside kick needs to be in a zone, and anything beyond that is a penalty. This might get rid of that onside kick where it goes over the team's head and bounces around. Those never really work well anyways.