By Darragh Holland

The Indianapolis Colts defense had stood tall and got Josh Allen and the Bills in a tough fourth and three situation from the Colts 26 yard line. With just 37 seconds left on the play clock, the Bills lined up looking like they wanted to go for it. As Josh Allen was letting the clock run down and giving a hard count it seemed to be obvious that he was tempting the Colts defense to jump offside so that the Bills would get an easy first down and have another few shots at the end zone. But Colts defensive end Kemoko Turay jumped, and the Bills got exactly what they needed, with the Colts sideline up in arms that one of their players fell for it.

Three plays later Allen ran into the endzone to finish off a 10 play, 96-yard drive that gave the Bills a 14-10 lead just before the half. The Bills then got the ball at the start of the second half to kick a field goal and complete a 10 point swing. So that penalty just before the end of the half was a key moment in the game, one of many moments the Colts will look back on with regret.

On Sunday evening we saw something similar. In the 3rd quarter Drew Brees was driving the New Orleans Saints down the field. The Chicago Bears defense had put up a solid effort against Brees all evening and had got the Saints in a 4th down situation. The Saints pretended they were going for it and Brees gave his hard count, leading to Bears Safety Eddie Jackson jumping offside.

Again, this silly mistake led to hands in the air disbelief on the Bears sideline as it gave the Saints a first down. Just a few plays later running back Latavius Murray ran into the endzone to finish a 12 play, 85-yard drive for the Saints. So instead of the Saints kicking a field goal to go 10-3 up they were now up 14-3  heading into the 4th quarter. And we all know football is a game of inches, and small plays can have massive impacts, especially when in the playoffs.

While the Bears struggled throughout the game to really look like they had a chance to win it, the jumped hard count on 4th down play and Javon Wims inexcusable dropped touchdown pass were two chances the Bears had to really turn the tide of the game in their favor. It was a terrible drop from Wims and it’s one he will have the whole off-season to think about, so it might be best for him to stay off Twitter for a while as there were some good memes and GIFs floating about. Going back to the offsides though, it has to be the most infuriating penalty to give away as a team. It’s the type of penalty that should make players find their own way home as no one will probably want to sit beside them on the team plane. When any simple fan like myself sitting at home can see so clearly what is coming, there really is no excuse for falling for it. 

Aaron Rodgers is one quarterback who uses it a lot and says it is also a great tactic for keeping the defense back on their heels and not letting them get a good jump. By not jumping, the worst-case scenario is that you just don’t get that great, early jump off the ball. If you hold your ground then the opposition either has to burn a timeout or snap the ball at around the 1-second mark.

Either way, you would expect better from the top-level players who are studying the game day in and day out. Yet it seems that every weekend there are one or two vital plays where a defender falls for the hard count trick. This weekend has four great games ahead in the divisional round, as it seems the NFL has left the best for last with the Buccaneers going to New Orleans to play the Saints. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to be a totally different team compared with when they lost to the Saints twice earlier in the season, so it should be a good one.

Darragh is a sports contributor for La Tonique