Boomer Esiason had some thoughts following the New York Jets’ 13-10 overtime victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.
Taking to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the CBS Sports analyst and WFAN host argued that the Giants should have won the game, as the ref failed to properly spot the ball following the play that set up the Jets’ game-tying field goal in regulation. Per Esiason’s post, “the spike play shouldn’t have happened” and the “game should have been over.”
The center actually spots the ball before the spike not the official . The spike play shouldn’t have happened. Game should have been over. @NFL @NFLOfficiating https://t.co/XpOk6bgEU7
— Boomer Esiason (@7BOOMERESIASON) October 30, 2023
The only problem? As many Jets fans were quick to point out, the very video that Esiason shared showed the official touching the ball before it was snapped by the center, which qualifies as a spot. The former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback’s post even wound up with an additional context note from X, citing the NFL’s rule book.
“Rule 3, Article 2 states the ball is ready for play when an official places the ball down,” the note reads. “The video shows the linesman spot of the ball at the 17, & the center placing it at there. The umpire touches the ball as part of placing it at that spot and allows play to continue.”
Football Zebras, a blog dedicated to football officiating, concurred that that the play was called correctly by the officials in the game.
“The mechanics call for the back judge or a player to put the ball down,” a post on the site’s live blog regarding the play in question reads. “The umpire will then race in, touch the ball that is lying on the ground, and get clear of the offense so they can snap and clock the ball. The umpire’s actions set the neutral zone and declare the ball ready for play.”
Despite all evidence to the contrary, Esiason doubled down on his take during Monday’s episode of WFAN’s Boomer & Gio.
“The center is now spotting the ball in the NFL at the end of these games because the NFL is making this crap up as they go along,” Esiason said. “That should never happen that way. And the official comes screaming in there and swipes the ball and that’s spotting the ball?”
Yes, Boomer. That’s exactly what it is.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.