While what the New Orleans Saints did to the Jacksonville Jaguars punt return team looks like a penalty, it’s not.
It’s hard to pull off, but it’s about as brilliant of a play as there is.
The theory behind what Saints cornerback Isaac Yiadom did is pretty smart. He walked back Jacksonville’s Tevaughn Campbell into his own man, punt returner Jamal Agnew. Yiadom did it mostly with one arm too, which was impressive. Yiadom seemed to know that Campbell’s momentum was taking him toward Agnew and decided to go with it.
The punt bounced off Campbell as he met Agnew, which is a live ball. The Saints recovered.
In real time it looked like a penalty for punt catch interference, but it was perfectly legal. The Saints didn’t get a touchdown out of it, but had a gift field goal to cut the Jaguars’ lead to 7-3 at the time in the first quarter.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen that tactic from an NFL team. But it’s hard to pull off. The Saints did it to perfection.