Removing a helmet in the NFL

Factual Questions
1

At times this year, a player removing his helmet on the field of play has been penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.

A recent example was Philip Buchanon of the Raiders. After returning a punt against the Chiefs, he sprinted to the back of the end zone and removed his helmet, incurring a 15-yard penalty.

NFL rules state that “[a]ny player who removes his helmet after a play while on the field” earns a 15-yard penalty for his team.

So earlier today, the Colts were playing the Patriots. Indianapolis had a fourth-and-goal right near the goal line with about 20 seconds to play in the game and the Colts trailing by 4 (38-34). The handoff went to James, but he was stuffed.

Willie McGinest was one of the Patriots who tackled James, and after the play he and two or three other Pats ran down the field in celebration. After all, they then got the ball back with almost no time left and up by four points.

But one of the guys - at least one - who was running downfield removed his helmet. I watched, surprised that no one on the field called it and shocked that the announcers (Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms) didn’t even mention it.

I therefore figured I had missed something, that perhaps when there’s a change in possession, it’s okay to remove one’s helmet. Or maybe it was because there was so little time left.

So … what did I miss? Why wasn’t the Patriot player penalized? Since it happened after the play, maybe it would have been assessed on their next offensive play (i.e., the Colts wouldn’t have gained anything, anyway)?

I think there’s a factual answer here, so this is in GQ.

2

Sounds like a missed call. I don’t think there are any exceptions to the helmet rule. As far as it being late in the game refs do throw flags for celebrations in the endzone that are very late in the game.

3

I suspect we’ll see a story on ESPN later this week where the NFL admits that the refs should have called a 15 yard penalty on that.

4

The last part is right, anyway. A dead ball foul after a change of possession (which, after the fourth-down play was whistled dead, occurred here) would result in a loss of yardage for the team gaining possession, but would not result in the ball being returned to the team that lost it.

The refs probably did miss it. There aren’t enough refs on the field to see everything that happens. If it is brought up again, the NFL will surely say that the missed call “did not affect the outcome of the game,” though they may give the crew an official telling-off.

5

And since they were so close to the IND goal line, it would have been half the distance anyway, and it wouldn’t have hurt IND in the tiniest. Not with 20 seconds to go.