Cardinals illegal touch in first half penalty explained by broadcast booth

The LA Rams defense has been on the football field twice as long as the offense, and that has not gone the way that fans and coaches have hoped. But a curious matter developed early in the second quarter with a second down and three yards to go. The Arizona Cardinals took a shot at a touchdown pass, with Cardinals QB Kyler Murray heaving a long pass to the end zone intended for Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson. The pass was incomplete, but a flag was thrown on the play.

The referee conferred with the officiating crew, and then explained the penalty to the fans in the stands and to television viewers. The net effect of the penalty was no different the the outcome of the play itself - an incompletion. That resulted in a loss of down.

But wait. Illegal touching, the penalty called on the play, translated into no walk off? Well, that certainly confused everyone. Even the broadcast booth play-by-play commentator Rich Eisen voiced his confusion on the play. So why was their no penalty walked off on the play?

Per the explanation from the in-game officiating expert, the following conditions occured on the play:

• The player, WR Michael Wilson, is an eligible receiver
• Wilson stepped out of bounds on his own volition
• Wilson then reestablished himself inbounds over the course of the play
• Wilson was the first player to touch the football following a forward pass from QB Kyler Murray

With that set of prevailing conditions, the penalty is merely a loss of down, similar to an incompletion (which was the result of the play on the football field). The reason it was so very confusing is that the penalty resulted in the same outcome as the play itself.

The Rams defense has been keeping the team in this game. But if the offense does not wake up soon, the Cardinals will certainly score, forcing the team to put the game on the shoulders of a very sketchy Matthew Stafford in Week 17.

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