The craziest sequence of events of this NFL season took place at the end of the first half in Chicago today.
With five seconds remaining before halftime, the Steelers lined up for a field goal. It was blocked, and Chicago’s Marcus Cooper picked it up with a clear path to the end zone for what should have been an easy touchdown.
Unfortunately, Cooper inexplicably began to celebrate inside the 5-yard line, and at the 1-yard line Pittsburgh’s Vance McDonald caught him and knocked the ball out of his hands.
The ball rolled into the end zone, where Steelers punter and holder Jordan Berry purposely batted it out the back of the end zone. The referee initially ruled that the half would come to an end, and many players went to the locker room.
However, after a long replay review, the referee called Berry for an illegal bat of a loose ball, a penalty that gave the Bears the ball at half the distance to the goal line from the spot of Cooper’s fumble, which was the half-yard line.
The Bears put their offense on the field to try to score a touchdown with no time left. But a false start penalty moved them back five yards. Chicago then put its field goal unit on the field, and the field goal was good.
It was an idiotic play by Cooper, a great hustle play by McDonald, and a great hustle play by Berry followed by a dumb penalty. And it was the craziest sequence of the year.
