One way to look at Sunday’s football game is the Eagles defeated the New York Jets. Another perspective might be the Jets simply proved more inept than the Eagles.
There are plenty of examples of bonehead mistakes coming back to haunt the Jets during their 24-17 loss, but none more glaring than Brandon Marshall’s attempted lateral in the second quarter. As Marshall was being spun to the turf to conclude a nice 15-yard reception, the five-time Pro Bowler inexplicably tried to dish the football to tight end Jeff Cumberland.
The ball instead hit Connor Barwin in the facemask, and Jordan Hicks recovered the fumble for the Eagles.
It was pure silliness. Totally avoidable. And Marshall was taking it pretty hard after the game.
“Wrong time to gamble,” Marshall said, his team down 17-0 at the time. “I was pressing, trying to make a play, but you can’t do that. That was probably the worst play in NFL history.
“The damage outweighs the reward so much.”
That it does. Awarded great field position, the Eagles responded immediately, going 36 yards in seven plays for a touchdown to grow the lead to 24. That turned out to be the game’s decisive score.
Some would say that’s Jets football for you. For others, it immediately conjured up memories of Mark Sanchez’s infamous “Buttfumble” when the Eagles backup quarterback was still the starter in New York.
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Of course, Buttfumble could’ve happened to anybody. Sanchez merely ran into his offensive lineman’s rear end and lost the football. Marshall somehow made the conscious decision as he was being tackled to fling the football to a teammate who was standing by, watching. That’s much, much worse.
But don’t worry, Brandon. It wasn’t the worst play or even the worst lateral ever in an Eagles game, much less NFL history. You have Ronnie Brown to thank for that.