The Baltimore Ravens ran out of time against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 39-38 loss after Joe Flacco fumbled out of bounds on the final play of the game. While the ball went out of bounds with about eight seconds left, the Ravens didn’t get another play off after the officials began winding the clock.
Ravens ran out of time vs. Steelers because a fumble can’t stop the clock
The officials were right to wind the final seconds off the clock after Joe Flacco fumbled.
The officials handled the play perfectly, and began winding the clock as soon as the ball was placed.
“If a fumble or backward pass by any player goes out of bounds, the game clock starts when an official places the ball at the inbounds line, and the Referee signals that the ball is ready for play.”
While Flacco’s fumble was accidental, the idea of the rule is to protect from players intentionally fumbling out of bounds to stop the clock. For example, imagine Flacco knew the sack was coming and realized he wouldn’t be able to pass downfield, so he rolled the ball out of bounds.
Apparently, the Ravens didn’t know the rule, though. The team attempted to huddle while the clock ticked down to zero and ended the game. Now they know.
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