The Buccaneers had perhaps the strangest play of this preseason when they made an extra point that counted for zero points because they lined up from the 2-yard line, and coach Bruce Arians says that was his fault.
After a touchdown, the Buccaneers told the officials they were going for two, which means the ball was placed on the 2-yard line. But they still sent their extra point team onto the field, in a trick play formation with holder Bradley Pinion at quarterback and kicker Ryan Succop at running back. When the Bengals’ defense looked ready for the trick play, the Buccaneers shifted into the standard extra point formation, and Succop kicked the ball through the uprights.
One problem: That’s against the rules. Extra points must be spotted at the 15-yard line, and once you tell the referee to spot the ball at the 2-yard line, you have to go for two. The officials correctly ruled it an aborted play and didn’t give the Buccaneers any points.
“We had really bad communication on the faked extra point,” Arians said, via the Tampa Bay Times. “The kicker didn’t know the rule. You can’t line back up and kick it. You don’t get a point for it. Evidently, it wasn’t communicated well enough that you can’t do that, so that’s on me.”
It’s hard to understand how an NFL team can make a mistake like that, but Arians can at least be glad his team got that mistake out of the way in the preseason.