The Philadelphia Eagles were cruising against the Jacksonville Jaguars, up 22-8 with just under 21 minutes left in the game when Jalen Hurts handed off to running back Saquon Barkley on first down.
Travon Walker’s amazing return of Eagles’ questionable fumble was a roller coaster of emotions
The Jaguars were gifted a fumble recovery by the officials.
Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images
Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Buffalo Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade. If it has to do with math, he covered it, from NFL playoff standings to salary cap analysis.
Barkley took the ball right, was seemingly tripped up, and hit the ground. When he hit the ground, the ball popped out. Jags defensive lineman Travon Walker picked it up, threw off some would-be tacklers, and returned it for a big score in the game.
Surely it would be overturned by instant replay. Only it wasn’t.
After taking it under the hood, the officiating crew ruled that Barkley had fumbled and the touchdown stood. After a 2-point conversion, the Jaguars were down 22-16.
The CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore tried explaining that the officials may have thought the contact happened early enough where it didn’t directly cause the player to hit the ground. That’s hard to justify.
This screenshot shows a Jaguars’ defender knocking Barkley’s foot.
Ultimately the Eagles were able to close out the game despite the refs’ blunder. A late interception sealed the game as the Jaguars were trying to take the lead. Philly won 28-23.
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