NFL explains why controversial blocked field goal in Seahawks

Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field the Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants played a game that could easily be described as a stinker to most Seahawks fans, with Seattle falling 29-20 and dropping to 3-2 on the season.

What started as an ugly performance for the defense, as Daniel Jones and the Giants offense marched up and down the field all game to the tune of 420 yards came down to a 46-yard field goal attempt from Jason Myers that had the potential to put the teams into overtime. However, the Giants special teams were more than prepared, and rather than a tying field goal, the outcome was a knife in the heart to the Seahawks hopes for a victory.

Giants safety, and former first round pick of the Arizona Cardinals , Isaiah Simmons jumped through the A gap and blocked Myers' kick, allowing Bryce Ford-Wheaton to scoop up the ball and rumble 60 yards for the clinching touchdown.

Many Seattle fans were livid, believing penalties should have been called for either jumping over the line of scrimmage or for defensive holding which made Simmons' leap behind the line easier.

There were, obviously, plenty more, but you get the picture. So, now it's time for the NFL to answer for the failure of their referees to make the proper call and give Seattle a first down, and that's exactly what the league officiating office did.

And the league office said the play was perfectly legal.

Basically, the two parts that fans had complained about - jumping over the line of scrimmage and holding down the long snapper - were done completely in compliance with the NFL rulebook.

For those who wonder how jumping over the line can square with the league outlawing jumping over the line in the wake of Kam Chancellor doing just that several years ago, the answer is quite simple. NFL rules forbid, "[r]unning forward and leaping across the line of scrimmage", however, in this case Simmons was not only on the line of scrimmage at the snap, he started the play with a hand in the dirt as a down lineman.

As for the second complain, that the Giants should have been called for defensive holding, Walt Anderson stated that since there was no contact to the head and neck area of a long snapper, the contact was legal.

In short, the refs didn't rob the Seahawks on the play by eating their whistles and not throwing their flags.

And now it's on to Week 6 and the San Francisco 49ers for the first place Seahawks.