NFL fans are furious after Zack Baun appeared to get away with an illegal hip-drop tackle that injured Cam Skattebo during the second quarter of the Philadelphia Eagles’ home game against the New York Giants.
Cam Skattebo had to be carted off with a gruesome-looking ankle injury after getting tangled up with linebacker Zack Baun following a pass attempt in their direction. The Giants quickly ruled their rookie star running back out for the game, though it already looks like he could be done for the season.
If you take a close look at the slo-mo replay, it certainly looks like Baun got away with the hip-drop tackle that was outlawed by the NFL in 2014:
NFL fans were unhappy with the missed call by the officials:
“The play that injured Giants RB Cam Skattebo was an illegal hip drop tackle from Eagles LB Zack Baun Shockingly, there was no penalty…. 😳,” one fan wrote.
“Only people saying this isn’t a hip drop tackle are Eagles fan btw,” a user said.
“Another hip drop tackle, this time on Cam Skattebo, when will they start flagging for this?” asked a user.
“This is an illegal play. 100% a hip drop tackle. The refs have totally screwed the Giants today and the Eagles dirty play just broke Skattebo’s ankle,” a fan wrote.
“NFL: “we’re going to penalize the hip drop tackle” Skatteboos season ends on a hip drop tackle without a flag,” said another.
Here’s how the NFL rulebook defines a hip-drop tackle:
“A hip-drop tackle occurs when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier’s legs during the tackle.
A hip-drop tackle will result in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first-down if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground:
1.Grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and
2. Unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.
Judging by the rulebook, it certainly looks like Baun got away with a penalty.
