Before the Vikings were able to mount a stunning fourth-quarter comeback on Monday night, the stage needed to be properly set for it. <\/p>\n
It almost wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
A key moment midway through the third quarter nearly gave the Bears possession of the ball at the Minnesota 25.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what happened. Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a short pass to tight end T.J. Hockenson. His knee was down. As he began to get up, Bears linebacker Noah Sewell punched the ball out before touching Hockenson.<\/p>\n
Bears coach Ben Johnson threw a challenge flag. The replay ruling was announced during a commercial break. When the coverage resume, Joe Buck properly teed up rules analyst Russell Yurk for an explanation.<\/p>\n
Said Buck: \u201cIn replay, the call stands. And Russell Yurk, our rules analyst \u2014 Russell, it doesn\u2019t matter that Sewell just came in and just punched the ball?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect,\u201d Yurk said. \u201cThe punching of the ball is a football play, and that\u2019s entirely legal. Even if he incidentally contacts the body, that\u2019s not a foul.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that wasn\u2019t the question. The question was whether Sewell hitting the ball before hitting the player rendered Hockenson down by contact.<\/p>\n
Many (including me) thought that if Sewell hit the ball without touching Hockenson, it\u2019s a fumble. (Johnson apparently thought that, too; otherwise, why challenge something that happened after Hockenson\u2019s knee was clearly down?)<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we\u2019ve learned, via discussions with someone who understands the rulebook better than the vast majority ever will.<\/p>\n
Any contact with the ball carrier or the ball \u2014 after the ball carrier\u2019s knee has struck the ground \u2014 makes him down by contact. The thinking was, and is, to avoid nitpicking over whether the defender only hit the ball. <\/p>\n
So, basically, once the player\u2019s knee is down, punching the ball (and only the ball) is no different than touching the player. It ends the play without a fumble.<\/p>\n