Fifth Down

I was watching the Skins-Bucs game yesterday. McNabb threw a completed pass to Anthony Armstrong with time running out in the 4th quarter. The Skins were marching down the field for the game-tying TD.

The announcers, Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa, all assumed it was 2nd down and 1 after Armstrong's catch. After an incompletion, a run for a loss, and another incompletion, the Skins seemingly had turned the ball over on downs. They were then given a fifth down, where Santana Moss caught a TD pass.

Some have blamed the announcers for not realizing that the Skins were actually given a 1st down after Armstrong's catch. But the Skins clearly started on the Bucs 12. After the Armstrong catch, the ball was clearly spotted short of the 2 yard line. The Skins should not have been given a first down. Again, it wasn't that it was a bad spot, the problem was the Skins hadn't gotten the necessary ten yards to earn a first down.

Someone messed up badly, but it wasn't the announcers. Spotting the ball is an inexact science, but determining the line to gain is not. It is ten yards from the start of the first play of the series. On the NFL's site, the play-by-play of the game claims that Armstrong reaches the 2 yard line, but if you watch the film, it's clear the ball was spotted short it.

Thankfully, there is justice in this world. A botched extra point attempt sealed the Skins fate. They lost by one.

And, the Bills won again! 6-10 here we come!