Seahawks Bobby Wagner pulled off an epic field goal block against Vikings, but NFL rules say it should have never happened
- Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner pulled off an impressive field goal block in Seattle's 21-7 win against the Minnesota Vikings.
- Wagner springboarded off of two Seahawks defensive linemen and leapfrogged Minnesota's blockers before using both hands to swat Dan Bailey's 47-yard attempt out of the air.
- The NFL added new language to its rulebook for the 2018 season that specifically prohibits what Wagner did.
- The play should have been a first down for the Vikings.
- Minnesota fans were understandably disappointed with the no-call, especially considering the team was down six points with less than six minutes remaining in the contest.
A no-call midway through the fourth quarter of the Seattle Seahawks' Monday Night Football matchup against the Minnesota Vikings may have altered the NFC playoff picture, and Vikings fans are not happy about it.
With less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Minnesota settled for a 47-yard field goal attempt on fourth-and-9 to try and cut Seattle's six-point lead in half.
But Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner had other plans.
In an impressive display of athleticism, Wagner springboarded off of two Seattle defensive linemen and leapfrogged Minnesota's blockers before using both hands to swat Dan Bailey's kick out of the air.
The referees threw a flag but picked it up after a discussion determined Wagner legally jumped over the line of scrimmage.
The officials were wrong.
This year, the NFL added new language to its rulebook that says a player cannot place "a hand or hands on a teammate or opponent to gain additional height... in an attempt to jump through a gap to block an opponent's kick or apparent kick."
Upon closer inspection, it is clear that Wagner pushed off of the two Seahawks defensive linemen in front of him to propel himself over the line of scrimmage. The play should have resulted in a 15-yard penalty and first down.
"I asked [the referees] if I could challenge and they said no," Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said in his postgame comments. "Quite honestly, I didn't see it. I didn't see what happened. I was told what happened, but I don't know."
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, on the other hand, seemed to imply that Wagner managed to hurdle the line of scrimmage without touching anyone else.
"We practiced it all week with Bobby jumping over the guys, [and he] never touched anybody," Carroll said, per NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman. "I don't know what happened in the game, but that's the way he was doing [it]. He was able to clear the line of scrimmage without touching anybody, that was the plan."
On the following drive, the Seahawks tacked on eight more points thanks to a two-yard run from Chris Carson and a pass to Tyler Lockett for the two-point conversion.
Minnesota fans were understandably disappointed with the no-call, especially considering the implications the final result of the game has on the team's NFC playoff standings. While Seattle now finds itself with a comfortable lead in the NFC wild-card race, the six-win Vikings sit just barely ahead of several teams in the race for the sixth seed.