2022 NFL Week 8 After Further Review, Part One: DJ Moore

It's the one everybody's talking about, so let's get the elephant in the room taken care of.

DJ Moore catches a 62 yard touchdown pass with less than 20 seconds left to tie the game with Atlanta.

He removes his helmet on the end line and throws it to the ground in celebration -- no Falcon player is in the area, so no direct taunting.

Moore is called for a 15 yard penalty for the removal of the helmet, but the NBC crew says that their rules analyst, Terry McAulay, says the penalty should not have been called.

So we consult the NFL rulebook...

Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, letter h:

"Removal of his helmet by a player in the field of play or the end zone during a celebration or demonstration, or during a confrontation with a game official or any other player."

So now, the question:  Does the end zone extend to the end line?

The answer is NO.

Rule 3, Section 12, Article 4, then Article 3:

Article 4 is Field of Play:

"The Field of Play is the rectangle formed by the Goal Lines and the Sidelines. It does not include the End Zone."

Since the rule does include the End Zone, Article 3:

The End Zone is the rectangle formed by the Goal Line, the End Line, and the Sidelines. The Goal Line and the pylons are in the End Zone. 

He is on the End Line, which would appear to indicate that the flag is correctly thrown.  Many Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty clauses in the Rule Book indicate they can be enforced anywhere in the officials' jurisdiction (this handles sideline fights, for example).

This is NOT one of them.

PJ WALKER JUST DID THAT. HAIL MARY TO DJ MOORE. pic.twitter.com/dDYwoZhaGG

— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2022

He is absolutely off the field of play and end zone before removing the helmet.  The Goal Line IS part of the End Zone, the End Line is NOT.

So, did the NFL want to save itself the embarrassment of a 3-5 team (three of them, in fact) leading the NFC South by Carolina winning the game?

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.....