So many players had trouble with their footing on the NFL’s opening weekend.
It began with Isaiah Likely’s touchdown-negating toe-tap at the back of the end zone at Arrowhead Stadium and continued throughout a waxy weekend that featured the Eagles and Packers slipping and sliding their way around Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena soccer pitch as the league expanded its global footprint with its debut in Latin America’s largest country.
Even games stateside also had their share of missteps, even those played indoors such as the one at Ford Field, where the Lions blamed themselves and not the turf after stumbling their way to an overtime win against the Rams.
The Lions might have won it in regulation if not for a trio of slip-ups on their final drive that ended with a field goal.
Jared Goff sailed a would-be touchdown throw over the head of Jahmyr Gibbs, who stumbled as he ran open in the Rams’ secondary with about a minute remaining. Amon-Ra St. Brown lost his footing on an incompletion two plays later and Kalif Raymond fell down on a third down misfire before Jake Bates’ field goal tied it.
After the Lions found their footing in overtime for a 26-20 win, Detroit wide receiver Jameson Williams suggested the issue wasn’t a slippery surface but the rusty Lions themselves.
Practicing on grass and with so many vets sitting out the preseason, it takes some time to get reacclimated to the artificial grass, Williams said.
The problem ran deeper in Brazil, where the converted soccer field was covered with divots by halftime of Philadelphia’s 34-29 win over Green Bay.
Saquon Barkley, who otherwise shined in his Eagles debut, slipped for a 5-yard loss on his first carry for Philadelphia.
Packers receiver Christian Watson missed out on a touchdown catch when he slipped in the end zone and Green Bay running back Emanuel Wilson fell on the seat of his pants as he tried to cut after a 14-yard gain.
When Jordan Love got hurt in his first game since signing a $220 million contract extension, newly acquired backup Malik Willis came in for one final play but slipped in the pocket and was sacked by Zack Baun before he could even heave a desperation pass.
With players on both sides of the ball falling on just about every play, former NFL star J.J. Watt chimed in with a post on social media that said: “Soccer fields are made for speed and agility. Smaller bodies gliding across the surface with minimal contact. They are not properly conditioned to have the size & strength of NFL players cutting, pushing and driving all game on them. This is common at international games.”
In Kansas City, where Taylor Swift and other Chiefs fans are hoping for a Super Bowl three-peat, they watched the opener come down to a different kind of footing issue.
Just as Ravens coach John Harbaugh was calling for a 2-point attempt to try to beat the back-to-back champs, video clearly showed Likely’s right big toe on the white endline — the tight end was wearing black cleats — nullifying his touchdown with no time left and leaving the Chiefs 27-20 victors in the 2024 NFL kickoff.
Patrick Mahomes had a friendly message for Likely afterward.
“You have to wear white cleats next time,” Mahomes cracked.
Had Likely worn white shoes as his teammate Roquan Smith did, the TV cameras almost certainly would have still shown he was on the endline, but his black cleats gave him no chance of getting away with it at all.
Tongue-in-cheek or not, it’s actually sound advice from Mahomes, suggested Broncos kicker Wil Lutz, who was on the wrong end of something similar eight years ago in New Orleans.
While the league allows black cleats or even cleats featuring a team color, wearing white shoes “does make a difference because it’s got to be conclusive evidence for it to be overturned, or for it to be confirmed, one of the two,” said Lutz. “If you’re wearing black they can clearly see it.”
It’s just like players wearing white gloves can get away with holding a white jersey easier than they can if they’re wearing dark colored gloves, Lutz noted.
Lutz had an up-close view the last time cleat color played such a prominent role in the final score. It was Nov. 10, 2016, in a game between his current team, the Broncos, and his former team, the Saints.
New Orleans had just tied the game late, but Lutz’s extra point attempt was blocked by Justin Simmons and scooped up by Will Parks, who raced 84 yards down the Saints’ sideline for the first game-winning defensive 2-point conversion in NFL history.
The Saints swore he stepped out of bounds at about the 35-yard line, but the play was upheld as officials couldn’t verify the claim because his white cleats blended in with the white sideline and no camera angles were available to prove otherwise.
Games can come down to the strangest of things.
Color choice, a slip here, a trip there.
Even a big toe.
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This story has been corrected to reflect the proper spelling of Saquon Barkley in the 9th paragraph and Zack Baun in the 11th paragraph.
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