We may only be four weeks into the 2021 NFL season, but it is hard to imagine we will see a fumble that is uglier than the one the Detroit Lions committed in their game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
The Lions were deep inside the red zone when they had an embarrassing mishap. Jared Goff walked up to the line of scrimmage to change a play, but center Frank Ragnow didn’t hear him because of the crowd noise. Ragnow snapped the ball when Goff wasn’t ready for it, and what happened next may have been a first.
Somehow, the ball deflected off Goff, went over the line of scrimmage, and landed right in the arms of Bears defensive lineman Bilal Nichols.
They call that being in the right place at the right time. There were flags on the play, but the penalty — illegal motion on Detroit — was declined.
We have definitely seen uglier fumbles in the past, but that play was up there with the worst of them.
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