Dee Ford almost repeated his AFC Championship mistake at the Pro Bowl
Lightning came dangerously close to striking twice on Kansas City's AFC Championship scapegoat.
In the wake of the Patriots’ 37-31 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, Chiefs defensive end Dee Ford bore his fair share of criticism for taking a costly offsides penalty on a play where Chiefs defender Charvarius Ward intercepted a Tom Brady pass with one minute left in the fourth quarter.
https://youtu.be/DiXh8H6dozk
If Ford lined up onside — or had the official simply warned him first before throwing a flag, as Kansas City head coach Andy Reid suggested is common in the NFL — the Chiefs would have regained possession of the ball at their own 40-yard-line with about 55 seconds to play in the game and a four-point lead. The Patriots had three timeouts left to use, so it’s possible they could have regained the ball for a last-second Hail Mary, but the Chiefs would most likely be the AFC team preparing for the Super Bowl at this moment.
Instead, the Patriots retained possession of the ball and turned a third-and-10 to a third-and-5 with one minute to go. Two plays later, the Patriots scored a go-ahead touchdown on a four-yard Rex Burkhead run, which eventually set up the game to go to overtime, and the Patriots to win.
Saddled with a heartbreaking playoff loss, Ford made his way to the Pro Bowl in Orlando, Florida this past weekend, where he mingled with other NFL stars and almost made the exact same mistake.
Dee Ford once again lined up offsides during today’s Pro Bowl. This time he realized before the snap.
If he did this a week ago, he wouldn’t be playing in the Pro Bowl.https://t.co/93JBaiWi3r
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 27, 2019
Ford, wearing No. 55 in red at the bottom of the video, lines up noticeably far over the line of scrimmage during a fourth-quarter play. This time, the 27-year-old recognized his error and bounced back onside just before the NFC offense snapped the ball.
The AFC won its third Pro Bowl in a row, 26-7.
