The Cowboys committed a ‘leaping’ penalty, leading to a Panthers touchdown

The Panthers hit a field goal, but Cowboys safety Brent Jones was called for a penalty for “leaping,” giving the Panthers a first down.

The penalty was pretty awful for the Cowboys. The Panthers had been facing a fourth-and-16, but the personal foul penalty gave them a new set of downs, and they went on to score a touchdown a few plays later.

Ron Rivera saw the penalty immediately, and yelled at refs while accidentally dancing like LeBron James:

Before you get super-upset by the name of the penalty: Yes, players are allowed to leap while attempting to block kicks. In fact, it happens on pretty much every field goal attempt in the NFL. Guys jump and try to block kicks.

However, you’re not allowed to leap from a yard beyond the line of scrimmage and land on another player. That’s one of the 24 things outlawed under the “unsportsmanlike conduct” penalty.

Running forward and leaping in an obvious attempt to block a field goal or Try Kick and landing on players, unless the leaping player was originally lined up within one yard of the line of scrimmage when the ball was snapped.

Several clauses of that rule are intended to help safety on field goals. You’re also not allowed to jump off a teammate’s back to block a kick, or lift an opponent to help them block a kick. The rule also outlaws standing in the end zone to jump up and block a kick as it crosses the upright, but that one isn’t about player safety.

Jones clearly toppled over the line, and appeared to jump from more than a yard away from the line. So that’s a penalty.

When a player jumps over the line to block a field goal, like this, that’s fine.

That’s legal, because he didn’t hit anybody. Basically, Jones needs to be better at jumping to try this again.

After all that, the Cowboys’ Sean Lee blocked a field goal in the fourth quarter without having to commit a penalty. Makes it even worse.