Washington Commanders kickoff returner Luke McCaffrey produced the smartest play of Thursday night’s win over the New York Giants simply by electing not to return a kick.
With McCaffrey stationed to field a Giants kickoff, the ball landed close to the sideline at the 5-yard line. The kick remained in bounds, and many returners would have secured possession and sprinted upfield. McCaffrey took a different approach: he let the ball bounce, stepped out of bounds, and then recovered it with his feet down beyond the sideline.
Under NFL rule, a ball is ruled out of bounds if it touches a player who is out of bounds, even if the ball itself never leaves the field of play. Because McCaffrey made contact with the ball while standing out of bounds, he forced a kickoff out-of-bounds penalty on the Giants, spotting the ball at the Commanders’ 40-yard line.
“I thought Luke McCaffrey made a really smart play that won’t show up on the stat sheet,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said. “That’s a difficult play. Is it out of bounds? Is it not? I was nervous about it—that’s one of those moments where you hold your breath.”
Knowing the rule is one thing; having the presence of mind to apply it in the fourth quarter with the game on the line is another. McCaffrey’s heads-up decision ranks among the smartest plays you will see in football.